Blogs

I departed DC for Steamboat, still not knowing when things will arrive. While switching flights in Denver, I receive the shipping info: it’s supposed to arrive today!

We’re scheduled to start the field campaign next week, but Goddard has been closed since the previous Friday because of back-to-back snowstorms in Washington, DC. The last week before shipping out on a campaign is always hectic, but we were supposed to have shipped the equipment out days ago. We have lost a week to […]

Knowing how widespread and how deep mountain snow packs are is important for more than just making ski forecasts. One-sixth of the world’s population relies on melted snow for their freshwater, which means good estimates of snow are critical for making realistic predictions of a region’s water supply. But measuring snow, especially the amount of […]

Onlookers participate in LCROSS pre-impact activities at NASA’s AmesResearch Center. Credit: NASA The crowd at NASA Ames was poised and ready for impact as the LCROSS camera started sending back stunning images of the moon’s south pole. At impact, a flash or large plume wasn’t visible with the LCROSS camera, but even though we didn’t …

Scientist and engineers are adjusting LRO’s orbit to have it fly its closest approach to the Cabeus target site just 90 seconds after the Centaur impacts the lunar surface.  Artist Concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with Apollo missionimagery in the background. Credit: NASA The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, better known as LRO, was a sister …

We have yet to uncover the full wealth of scientific information the moon holds. It at the cornerstone of understanding the birth and evolution of Earth and other planets, therefore we need to explore it. The moon looks very unchanging and calm in the night sky and is rarely thought of as an active planetary …

It’s almost time! It’s been over three months since the Atlas V soared from Cape Canaveral, Fla. into space carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (“LCROSS” for short). Now it’s finally time for LCROSS to do its things and get up close and personal with the moon. …

Operation Ice Bridge, a six-year NASA field campaign, is the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice ever flown. It will yield an unprecedented three-dimensional view of Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice. The team in Antarctica will be blogging about their experiences on this campaign over the next few weeks […]

Merril Brook Cabins, Howland, Maine From Dr. Jon Ranson: I’ve shared a lot of my own experiences over the past two weeks.  For the moment, I’m going to step aside and ask Sassan Saatchi to share with you his impressions of his work at Howland.  From Dr. Sassan Saatchi This has been a very good […]

Penobscot Experimental Forest, Bradley, Maine Temperature 71°F    Humidity 65%    Wind 0 mph      Sunny From Dr. Jon Ranson: This gorgeous morning we hopped in our cars and drove back to the last site, close to Lake Chemo (you can pronounce that chee-moe).  Yesterday I was impressed by the high biomass and the giant Quaking Aspen trees.  Today […]