For the past several weeks, much of the world has experienced a new normal: one with fewer cars on the road and more time spent at home.
Despite these changes, NASA’s Earth-observing fleet continues to operate, collecting key observations on how the planet is responding to this changing behavior due to restrictions in place from COVID-19.
“Much like our satellites, our work continues remotely,” explains Acting Director for NASA’s Earth Science Division Sandra Cauffman. “NASA Earth scientists continue to collect and analyze satellite and ground-based data on a global scale, and our programs are helping to characterize and understand the global environmental signals. We do this by analyzing existing, long-term datasets and funding new, cutting-edge research.”
Ongoing observations of air quality and of Earth at night have helped provide immediate examples of how Earth’s systems are responding to these changes in human behavior. From space, NASA’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the Aura satellite and the European Space Agency’s TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) aboard the Sentinel-5P satellite have provided the data behind the images of rapidly falling nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels around the world due to people sheltering in place.
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