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Belts of Green in the Washington Suburbs

2026-04-22 04:01

A straight-down view of Greenbelt is centered on a square park, with smaller green spaces weaving through surrounding homes, businesses, a college campus, and government buildings.

July 30, 2023

Beyond the border of Washington, D.C., numerous suburbs spread across Virginia and Maryland. Many are accessible from the Capital Beltway (I-495), the highway that encircles Washington. An astronaut on the International Space Station captured this photo of the beltway’s northeast side where it passes through the historic city of Greenbelt, Maryland.

The photo was taken on July 30, 2023, a time of year when the region’s vegetation is lush and green. One of the more prominent green spaces in this image is Greenbelt Park. The park’s nearly 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) contain forested hiking trails, several picnic areas, and a campground. The land was once intended as a future extension of the city of Greenbelt, but it was acquired by the National Park Service in 1950.

Just north of the park, Greenbelt’s historic district is laid out in a crescent shape. The district is one of three planned communities that arose in the 1930s as part of the New Deal program, intended to provide work for the unemployed and to create affordable cooperative housing with accessible green space. Homes connect to walking paths, which in turn connect to one of the country’s oldest planned shopping centers.

A collection of buildings east of the beltway is NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, established in Greenbelt on May 1, 1959, as NASA’s first spaceflight complex. Several patches of forested land separate some of the buildings. The large green spaces north of Goddard are a mix of forested land and agricultural fields in the town of Beltsville, which include University of Maryland and USDA agricultural research sites. The main campus of the University of Maryland is visible just west of Greenbelt in College Park.

Other nearby tree-lined areas are visible as well. For instance, Hyattsville, just south of College Park, has been recognized as a “tree city” for more than three decades. In addition, trees line a large segment of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD-295), which runs north-south between Baltimore and Washington and bisects Greenbelt Park.

Astronaut photograph ISS069-E-39302 was acquired on July 30, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 1150 millimeters. It was provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 69 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

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References & Resources

Greenbelt Museum, Greenbelt History. Accessed April 20, 2026.
National Park Service, Foundation Document Overview. Accessed April 20, 2026.
National Park Service (2026) Greenbelt Park, Maryland. Accessed April 20, 2026.
National Park Service (2018, July 2) Greenbelt Historic District. Accessed April 20, 2026.
The Washington Post (2025, December 10) In Greenbelt, Md., New Deal history meets co-op spirit. Accessed April 20, 2026.

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Artemis II Mission Milestones: An Image and Video Recap

2026-04-22 01:55

A view of Earth taken by an Artemis II astronaut from one of the Orion spacecraft’s windows after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026. The image features two auroras (top right and bottom left), and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun. Venus is shown on the bottom right of the image.

NASA

On April 1, 2026, Artemis II launched on a nearly 10-day voyage around the Moon, marking the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, splashed down on April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

At their farthest point, the crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, setting a record for the greatest distance humans have traveled in space and observing the lunar surface like never before.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly complex missions to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and to prepare for future human missions to Mars.

Relive exciting mission moments through the videos and images shared below.

Pre-Launch Preparation

Iceland Geology Training

A large scenic view of a mountain. In the bottom left, small silhouettes of people.

The Artemis II crew and backup crew members NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jenni Gibbons trek across the Icelandic landscape during their field geology training.

NASA/Robert Markowitz

To prepare for lunar exploration, the Artemis II crew trained in Iceland’s volcanic terrain.

They practiced navigation and field geology skills in challenging conditions while working as a team. The astronauts collected rock samples using tools like hammers, scoops, and chisels, and provided feedback to instructors to refine future Artemis training sites.

How To Dress For Space

Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit long-duration fit check with Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman.

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

The crew trained extensively in NASA’s Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS), the bright orange spacesuit worn inside the Orion spacecraft during launch and re-entry.

Each suit is custom-fitted and includes systems for air, water, food, and waste management. In emergencies, it can sustain life for up to six days.

The crew practiced suit operations in simulated weightlessness and pressurized environments to confirm performance for deep space travel.

Moon Talks

During the mission, the crew reflected on what the Moon means to them personally and professionally, sharing thoughts shaped by years of training and preparation.

Launch

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen launched April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA/Keegan Barber

Launch of NASA’s Artemis II: Moon Rocket Camera Views

Enjoy launch views from cameras affixed to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. These cameras, developed by NASA, are called the Flight Imaging Launch Monitoring Real-time System (FILMRS). They survive some of the harshest environments of the avionics on the vehicle.

Mission to the Moon

Flight Day Highlights

Flight Day 3
View of a crescent Earth from the Orion spacecraft.
NASA

Flight Day 4
Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch is seen through a window of the Orion spacecraft while on her way to the Moon. This selfie-style photo was taken using a camera on the end of one of Orion’s solar array wings. Koch is holding “Rise”, the zero gravity indicator that launched with the crew after being selected from more than 2,600 original designs that were submitted from countries around the world. A zero gravity indicator is a small plush item that typically rides with a crew to visually indicate when they are in space. “Rise” was inspired by the iconic Earthrise moment from the Apollo 8 mission.
NASA

019A0170.NEF — Flight Day 5
A view of the nearside of the Moon, the side we always see from Earth. Some of the far side is visible, as well, on the left edge, just beyond the black patch that is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides and is partly visible from Earth. The dark areas in the center and right side of the disk are ancient lava flows, which are unique to the near side of the Moon. The white dot at the bottom of the disk, with white rays shooting out from it, is Tycho crater, one of the younger craters on the Moon at 108 million years old.
NASA

015B0524.NEF — Flight Day 6
Earth sets at 5:41 p.m. CDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the Moon. Orientale Basin is perched on the edge of the visible lunar surface. Hertzsprung Basin appears as two subtle concentric rings, which are interrupted by Vavilov, a younger crater superimposed over the older structure. The lines of indentations are secondary crater chains formed by ejecta from the massive impact that created Orientale. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.
NASA

Earth setting behind the Moon’s horizon. Set against the blackness of space, the dark gray surface of the Moon arc across the image in the foreground. Beyond, a blue and white crescent Earth, oriented like a frown, fills the center of the image, with one tip disappearing beyond the lunar limb. — Flight Day 6
Echoing the iconic Earthrise photo captured by the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968, during the lunar flyby, the Artemis II crew captured a shot of Earthset as they passed behind the Moon’s far side.
NASA

This image, taken from behind the Moon, shows its half-illuminated surface in sharp detail. To the right, a much smaller crescent Earth can be seen, with shades of blue and white just barely distinguishable. A faint reflection of the Orion spacecraft's window overlays the scene, especially in its right half. — Flight Day 6
Seen from behind the Moon during Artemis II, the Moon and Earth align in the same frame, each partially illuminated by the Sun. The Moon’s surface appears in sharp detail in the foreground, while Earth sits much farther away, smaller and softly lit in the background. A faint reflection in the spacecraft window is also visible, subtly overlaying the scene. Though their phases differ, both are shaped by the same sunlight, revealing the geometry of the Sun–Earth–Moon system from deep space.
NASA

Flight Day 6
The Moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, is photographed by NASA’s Orion spacecraft on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II mission. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the Moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the Moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars.
NASA

Flight Day 6
Solar array wing-mounted cameras capture close-up images of NASA’s Orion spacecraft during a routine external inspection. At the time this photo was taken at 7:27 a.m. CDT, April 7, the crew was in a sleep period ahead of their seventh day into the mission.
NASA

The Milky Way galaxy appears as many points of light dotting the blackness of space. — Flight Day 7
A stunning snapshot in time. The Artemis II crew captured this breathtaking photo of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The Milky Way’s elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Spanning more than 100,000 light-years, Earth is located along one of the galaxy’s spiral arms, about halfway from the center.
NASA

017A7337.NEF — Flight Day 7
The Artemis II crew – (clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover – pause for a group photo with their zero gravity indicator “Rise,” inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home.
NASA

Flight Day 10
On April 10, 2026, NASA’s Artemis II crew members are hoisted into a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter after successfully splashing down in the Pacific Ocean following their nearly 10-day mission around the Moon.
NASA/James Blair

Return to Earth

How to Recover a Spacecraft

After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, NASA and U.S. Navy teams recovered the Orion spacecraft and crew.

Recovery teams secured the capsule, opened the hatch, and assisted the astronauts out. The crew was then flown by helicopter to the Navy recovery ship, while Orion was brought aboard for transport back to shore.

More Mission Moments

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft’s main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels toward the Moon.

NASA

View more imagery on the Artemis II Multimedia Resource Page.

Go/No-Go: NASA’s Space Toilet Explained

The Universal Waste Management System, or space toilet, is a critical onboard system.

During the mission, the crew worked through operational issues to maintain performance in microgravity.

Space-to-Space Call: NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts and the International Space Station

Two screens at the front of Mission Control show three astronauts floating at the International Space Station (left) and four astronauts floating in the Orion spacecraft (right). Flight controllers watch from behind computer screens at their desks.

Members of the International Space Station Expedition 74 (left) and Artemis II (right) crews are seen at once on the screens inside the International Space Station flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA/Robert Markowitz

A historic first took place during the mission: a direct call between a deep space crew and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Artemis II connected with Expedition 74 astronauts Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, marking the first ship-to-ship communication of its kind.

Moments Around the Moon

The Artemis II crew uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.

NASA

Artemis II brought the crew to 252,756 miles from Earth at its farthest point and covered a total of 694,481 miles.

The lunar flyby set a new human distance record, surpassing Apollo 13’s 1970 record. The crew observed the Moon from closer range than any humans before them during a crewed mission.

Moon Joy, Courtesy of NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts

The Artemis II crew – (clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover – pause for a group photo with their zero gravity indicator “Rise,” inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home.

NASA

With years of training and thousands of experts behind the mission, one unexpected outcome stood out: Moon joy.

It captured the emotional weight of seeing the Moon up close and the significance of returning humans to deep space.

Crew Comes Home

Watch the official NASA broadcast as the Artemis II crew splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA’s Orion capsule descends under its main parachutes over the Pacific Ocean following a successful Artemis II mission, April 10, 2026.

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Crew Return to Houston

NASA’s Artemis II crew shared remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport on April 11, 2026.

NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

The Artemis II astronauts returned to Ellington Airport in Houston following their historic mission around the Moon.

Artemis II Crew News Conference

The crew shared reflections on their journey, the challenges of deep space flight, and what comes next for Artemis.

The Artemis II mission marks a major step forward in human exploration.

The mission demonstrated deep space crew operations, tested Orion systems with astronauts aboard, and set the stage for future lunar missions.

We are just getting started.

The Next Steps in Lunar Exploration

As the Artemis II crew flew over the terminator, the astronauts described this boundary between day and night as “anything but a straight line.” Crater rims along the terminator stand out as “islands” in the night. Giant chains of craters emanating from the 3.7-billion-year-old Orientale Basin can be seen scouring the surface, stretching almost to the terminator. This tells a geologic story: these crater chains produced by the Orientale impact event mar the surface of the relatively flat Hertzsprung Basin (center of this image), which means that Hertzsprung Basin must be even older than Orientale.

NASA

NASA is preparing for future missions to the Moon’s South Pole.

Work continues on next-generation spacesuits, lunar tools, and rovers at Johnson and its supporting training facilities. Listen as Apollo and Artemis astronauts, as well as subject matter experts, discuss the challenges of exploring the Moon in preparation for Mars

Future Artemis missions will face challenges including harsh lighting conditions, lunar dust, and extreme temperatures as NASA builds toward sustained exploration of the Moon and eventual human missions to Mars.

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4867-4872: Sand Fill In Antofagasta Crater and Finding Our Next Drill Target

2026-04-22 00:33

3 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4867-4872: Sand Fill In Antofagasta Crater and Finding Our Next Drill Target

A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface. The foreground and midground feature large expanses of pale, flat bedrock broken into striking, geometric polygonal patterns that resemble dried mud cracks. Fine sand with gentle, wind-blown ripples fills a shallow depression in the center and surrounds the rocky slabs. In the background, the rocky terrain stretches out toward a dark, gently sloping ridge line under a blank sky.

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Right Navigation Camera on April 13, 2026 — Sol 4865, or Martian day 4,865 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, at 21:36:04 UTC.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Earth planning date: Friday, April 17, 2026

At the beginning of the week, Curiosity arrived right on target on the rim of the 10-meter (33 feet) “Antofagasta” crater.

The crater looked fresh and deep as we had hoped with a nice well-defined rim that didn’t look too eroded, but the bottom of it turned out to be filled with dark rippled sandy material that covered up the most interesting rock layers. There were a few rock exposures just above the sand cover that seemed like they might have been deep enough to have been sheltered from space radiation between the time their sediments were deposited and the crater-forming impact, but reaching them from the rim would have put the rover at such an awkward angle that we wouldn’t have been able to deliver the sample to the instruments. It’s possible that we might have been able to get into a better position by instead placing the rover on the rippled crater fill, but the chance that the rover could get stuck in all that sand made it much too high a risk. We also looked at the nearby blocks in case they could have been ejecta from the crater, but since all the rocks visible in the crater wall looked very similar to each other, there wasn’t a good way to tell which ejecta blocks might have come from the deeper layers of the crater. Because of this, the team decided against attempting to drill in or around the crater.

Luckily the rover’s workspace was rich with interesting bedrock targets including polygonal features. We planned detailed imaging of the crater and nearby buttes together with APXS geochemistry, MAHLI close-up imaging and ChemCam LIBS geochemistry of the polygon-bearing rocks on the crater rim. The plan was rounded out with our ongoing observations of the present-day Martian environment, including monitoring for dust-devil activity and regular measurements of atmospheric opacity and clouds.

Meanwhile, with the decision not to drill at Antofagasta, we started planning our next drill campaign! To plan our drill strategy in this post-boxwork section of the layered sulfate strata, we’ve been looking at the exposed layering in the buttes above us as we have been driving up through “Valle Grande.” Based on these observations, team members have mapped out a succession of varying depositional styles and levels of diagenetic activity. As we climb southwards, the rover will reach these rock layers one by one.
It’s been quite a while since we’ve drilled into the layered sulfate rocks outside the distinctive regions of the boxwork-forming unit and Gediz Vallis. The last “typical” layered sulfate drill was the “Mineral King” campaign in February/March 2024, more than 150 meters (492 feet) lower in elevation. So for our next drill campaign our goal is to measure a representative bedrock sample from the layers just above the boxworks. The Sol 4870 workspace turned out to have a drillable-looking, representative-looking block right in front of the rover so we have planned our preliminary APXS, MAHLI, and ChemCam geochemistry on the potential drill target, “Atacama,” in addition to some measurements on surrounding blocks for context. If the results look good we’ll proceed with the preload test in the next plan and look forward to a new set of drill data on Mars.

Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?

Visit Mission Updates
Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments?

Visit the Science Instruments page

A rover sits on the hilly, orange Martian surface beneath a flat grey sky, surrounded by chunks of rock.

NASA’s Curiosity rover at the base of Mount Sharp

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Apr 21, 2026

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NASA Invites Media to Jordan Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

2026-04-21 21:30

Credit: NASA

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 23, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Ambassador Dina Kawar of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and U.S. Department of State Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Ruth Perry for the ceremony.

This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, to: hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

The signing ceremony will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson building, 300 E. Street SW.

In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Jordan will be the 63rd country to sign the Artemis Accords.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

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Apr 21, 2026

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Jennifer M. Dooren

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New NASA Views of Earth, From (S)PACE

2026-04-21 20:54

1 Min Read

New NASA Views of Earth, From (S)PACE

A data visualization of a region of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, around the Kamchatka Peninsula. Blooms of diatoms are shown on a scale from green to yellow, with yellows representing more of the organisms. The yellows swirl along the peninsula’s eastern coastline, with a few further out into the oceans.

A diatom bloom unfolds off the Kamchatka Peninsula as spring conditions drive rapid phytoplankton growth. These blooms play an important role in ocean ecosystems, helping transfer carbon and support marine life.

Credits: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins

NASA’s photos of Earth released during Artemis II’s mission around the moon show our planet against the dark backdrop of space. Auroras illuminated the thin atmosphere, city lights dotted the outline of continents, and brown deserts gave way to green vegetation.

Are those city lights normally this bright? What kind of clouds are swirling over the Atlantic Ocean? Is that hazy brown bit dust, or smoke, or something else?

An Artemis II astronaut took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn. There are two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun.
This and another photo of Earth are the first downlinked images from the Artemis II astronauts.

NASA

To dig into the mysteries of our planet Earth, NASA has a fleet of satellites in orbit, gathering data around the clock. Join one of these satellites — the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem satellite (PACE), which launched in February 2024 — to explore its unique views of our home planet’s ocean, atmosphere, and land surfaces.

Dust, smoke in wind

Photographs like the ones from Artemis II capture visible light. The PACE satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), however, sees Earth across a hyperspectral range of visible, ultraviolet, near infrared and shortwave infrared light.

The ultraviolet measurements, collected daily by PACE, provided a way to track dust over the Atlantic Ocean in August 2025 as a large plume blew west from North Africa. At the same time, the data show another plume to the north, traced back to wildfire smoke in the United States and Canada.

PACE tracks aerosols over the North Atlantic, revealing Saharan dust transported westward and wildfire smoke moving east. The aerosol index highlights these large-scale atmospheric transport patterns.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Wildfires beneath blanket of smoke

As fires burned across the greater Los Angeles area throughout January 2025, PACE data tracked the size and shape of resulting particles, allowing researchers to distinguish between small, sooty smoke particles and relatively larger and brighter particles in the air, like dust and sea salt.

Instruments on PACE can capture the evolution and intensity of both the blaze and the resulting smoke.

In addition to OCI, the satellite carries two instruments called polarimeters that measure how sunlight interacts with particles in the atmosphere.

Combining specific wavelengths from OCI also allows researchers to determine a fire’s intensity, adding to other satellite observations that provide valuable information to emergency responders.

PACE captures smoke and dust from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Southern California on January 9. The true-color view shows how these plumes spread across the region and offshore, while additional PACE products reveal relative burn severity on the ground and aerosol properties in the atmosphere, including optical depth, light absorption, and dominant particle size.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Harmful algal blooms

Data from PACE and other satellites can also help warn local managers of reservoirs, beaches, and other recreation sites of potential water quality problems.
Cyanobacteria, sometimes called blue-green algae, are a normal part of some freshwater ecosystems, like the Great Lakes. They’re unremarkable for most of the year.

But in certain conditions — typically lots of sunshine, nutrients, and warmer temperatures — the numbers can explode into a bloom that produces toxins harmful to people and animals. The PACE satellite can detect specific shades of blues, greens, and reds that indicate a bloom is in progress.

PACE detects harmful cyanobacteria blooms across the Great Lakes during summer 2024. Elevated concentrations appear in regions like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay, and western Lake Erie, showing how cyanobacteria abundance changes over time.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
NASA’s PACE knows type

Blooms of tiny plant-like organisms called phytoplankton play essential roles in ocean ecosystems. A key capability of PACE is that it not only spots them from space, but its ocean color observations can identify different types of phytoplankton.

In September 2024, for example, tiny algae were thriving along the coast of Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, while two types of cyanobacteria dominated in the open ocean waters around Madeira and north of the Canary Islands.

PACE resolves different types of phytoplankton in the eastern Atlantic, distinguishing communities like picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus, and Synechococcus. Each group occupies distinct regions of the ocean, shaped by differences in nutrient availability and large-scale ocean structure.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Some are helpful

Ocean ecologists often sing the praises of diatoms, a relatively large phytoplankton in the center of food webs. When diatoms bloom, fisheries thrive.

Diatoms also play a key role in the global carbon cycle. They produce oxygen and transform carbon dioxide into sugars that feed the marine food web. Diatoms can sink to the ocean depths when they die, effectively capturing carbon absorbed from the atmosphere.

A diatom bloom unfolds off the Kamchatka Peninsula as spring conditions drive rapid phytoplankton growth. These blooms play an important role in ocean ecosystems, helping transfer carbon and support marine life.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Some are harmful

Some species of phytoplankton can be deadly, especially in large numbers. In waters off South Australia, a massive bloom of the algae called Karenia began forming in March 2025, producing neurotoxins that can kill marine life and sicken beachgoers.

Researchers used PACE satellite data to track the bloom for months, picking up its characteristic fluorescence expanding from a few pixels to a region-wide bloom, impacting fishing, tourism, and other businesses.

A harmful algal bloom of Karenia mikimotoi appears off the coast of South Australia. Unlike cyanobacteria, this species is identified through its fluorescence in sunlight.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Silver linings

For some scientists sifting through PACE data, clouds block the view; for others, the clouds arethe view. Polarimeters on PACE measure the sunlight bouncing off cloud droplets in the atmosphere, taking observations from multiple angles to provide a unique kind of depth perception.

With the help of machine learning, PACE scientists can reconstruct a 3D portrait of the clouds. It’s a new way of using satellite imagery that could provide insights into how clouds and precipitation form.

HARP2’s multi-angle observations reveal the three-dimensional structure of clouds along a satellite orbit. These measurements provide new insight into cloud vertical structure and variability.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins
Ship tracks

In some PACE images of the ocean, streaks of brighter clouds indicate the path of ships below. With few sources of pollution in the open ocean, exhaust from ships changes the nature of the clouds formed. These “ship tracks” comprise smaller cloud droplets than typical marine clouds.

Ship emissions modify marine stratocumulus clouds over the North Pacific, creating bright streaks known as ship tracks. Aerosols from ships lead to smaller cloud droplets and brighter clouds.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Kel Elkins

By Kate Ramsayer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Apr 21, 2026

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The move could shore up weaknesses at each company, but it also reveals them. Neither Cursor nor xAI has proprietary models that can match the leading offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI — the same companies now competing directly with Cursor for the developer market.

Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple: Here’s a look at his 15-year legacy, from new products and services to China expansion

2026-04-21 21:09

Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011 and went on to transform Apple into a $4 trillion powerhouse.

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The FIFA World Cup is one of the most highly anticipated events in the world of sports, capturing the attention of millions of fans around the globe. Along with the excitement of the games themselves, there are also various trends and developments that emerge during each tournament. Let's take a look at some of the recent World Cup trends that have shaped the tournament in recent years.

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With the increase in awareness surrounding gender equality and women's rights, the importance of acknowledging and addressing wives' matters has become a trending topic in recent years. Wives play a crucial role in families and society, yet their needs and challenges are often overlooked or brushed aside. It is essential to recognize that wives have their own set of concerns, aspirations, and struggles that deserve attention and support.

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