NASA Mission Connections
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NASA Mission Connections
GLOBE engages volunteers worldwide to collect data in support of the following NASA Earth science missions and projects. Explore all NASA Earth science missions here.
Missions
The Artemis III mission will test critical systems needed for future lunar landing missions. It will fly in low Earth orbit in 2027 and will also make observations to benefit Earth. GLOBE volunteers can contribute to Artemis III with observations of clouds, land cover, and water quality with secchi disks.
The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite measures changes as small as a centimeter on Earth’s land, water, vegetation, and ice. This information will help us understand processes like vegetation change and agriculture, natural hazards and their impacts, sea level variation, ground water movement, and changes in glaciers and ice sheets. GLOBE volunteers can contribute to NISAR studies of agriculture and snow through the Land Cover protocol.
The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite provides data about ocean phytoplankton, particles in the air like dust and smoke (aerosols), clouds, and vegetation. PACE carries three instruments that measure many wavelengths of light, from ultraviolet to infrared, and its polarization to help us better understand our ocean and atmosphere. GLOBE volunteers can support PACE science by observing clouds when PACE is overhead, land cover (particularly green down), and aerosols. Observations of water transparency and land cover observations of coastal sargassum may also be useful. Volunteers who submit GLOBE cloud observations collected during a PACE overpass are emailed the corresponding PACE data.
The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite is mapping Earth’s surface water and observing the fine details of the ocean’s surface topography. This data is critical to inventory Earth’s fresh water, provide insights into the global water cycle, and better understand the dynamics of floodplains and wetlands. Ocean topography data tracks sea level rise, large-scale hills and valleys created by El Niño and La Niña conditions, and smaller ocean currents and eddies. GLOBE volunteers can participate in SWOT science by observing land cover and lake levels.
The EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) instrument is an imaging spectrometer that flies on the International Space Station. It measures mineral composition to provide insight into how they heat or cool our planet. GLOBE volunteers can support EMIT science by documenting snow color using the land cover protocol. Observations of agriculture using the land cover protocol may also be useful.
The ECOSTRESS instrument flies on the International Space Station to acquire high resolution images of temperature and emissivity (a measure of how much heat the surface can radiate). GLOBE volunteers can contribute to ECOSTRESS science with measurements of air and surface temperature.
TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of POllution) is a constellation of instruments that are collecting observations of pollution over the Northern Hemisphere. GLOBE protocols that may support TEMPO science include aerosols and clouds.
The Landsat Program provides the longest space-based record of Earth’s land. Sentinel 2 satellites are now also imaging the land surface. GLOBE’s land cover protocol is designed to complement Landsat data. Volunteers who submit land cover data to GLOBE are emailed the closest in time Landsat and Sentinel 2 observation.
NOAA-20, part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, carries multiple instruments, including the CERES_FM6 instrument and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Volunteers who collect a GLOBE clouds observation when NOAA-20 is overhead are emailed the corresponding satellite data.