NASA’s Earth-observing satellites provide societally important data and demonstrate transformative applications. The need for more data and better scientific information on Earth’s interacting systems has only increased in urgency in recent years, making investment in the work of NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) all the more vital. However, progress on the goals established in the 2018 report Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space has been limited, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academies’ 2018 decadal survey identified top science goals, observational needs, and opportunities for U.S. space-based Earth observations over the following 10 years, and contained recommendations for NASA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The new report identifies potential strategies for managing the ESD portfolio and recommends ways to maintain programmatic balance and improve alignment with stated priorities, to ensure it can sustain existing missions that provide valuable data and continue launching innovative science-driven missions through the Earth System Explorer and Earth Venture programs.

NASA’s Earth-observing satellites are critical to monitoring and responding to climate change and its effects. Satellites provide capabilities that help track and understand methane leaks, sea-level rise, groundwater pumping, deforestation, wildfires, ocean surface topography, ocean primary productivity, and glacial outburst floods. The report says that these capabilities enable significant improvements in areas such as weather and climate predictions, documentation of emission reductions, wildfire management, water resource conservation, and risk reduction of extreme heat, flooding, and landslides.

A comprehensive strategic framework is needed to ensure the continuity of key Earth observations, the report says. However, at current funding levels, NASA’s ESD cannot be expected to deliver on the call for long-term measurement continuity and new and improved observations.

The report details the exponential growth in the demand for and uses of Earth observations to advance science, support operational decisions, and address myriad societal needs. NASA has responded by elevating the role of ESD, and by supporting applied science research and applications projects. ESD should continue to work to communicate the substantial economic and social value of investing in the complete set of priorities laid out by the scientific community in the 2018 report.

ESD’s topline budget has remained flat in recent years, even as the cost of missions in development has increased and plans for the Landsat Next program have expanded. To deal with these budgetary pressures, the report notes that Landsat Next will require sufficient funding to cover unanticipated costs, and recommends that ESD follow budgetary guidance in the 2018 report, among other steps.

The report includes other actions that ESD should take, such as:

• Continue to improve its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility strategies.

• Better engage the Earth system modeling community to understand observation priorities in furtherance of advanced climate projections.

• Expand funding opportunities for U.S. investigators to participate in and leverage data from international, interagency, and commercial endeavors.

DETAILS: Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Midterm Assessment of Progress Toward Implementation of the Decadal Survey is available for immediate release. Reporters with questions should contact Josh Blatt in the Office of News and Public Information; 202-334-2138 or jblatt@nas.edu.