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NASA Satellites Uncover Large-Scale Ocean Nutrient Stress

- A study published June 5 (Science Advances) combines two decades of NASA MODIS satellite data, ocean surveys, and genetic markers in Prochlorococcus to map phytoplankton nutrient stress globally. - Warming sea-surface temperatures increase stratification, reduce upwelling, and limit surface nutrients, with strongest stress in subtropical gyres and the South Pacific. - Nutrient stress varies seasonally and with climate modes (El Niño/La Niña, PDO); La Niña reduces stress via stronger upwelling. - Some Southern Hemisphere regions show less-than-expected stress, possibly due to nitrogen-fixing microbes, indicating ecological complexity and potential resilience.

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Photo by @nasa / Unsplash

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Fighting Fire With Fire

Fighting Fire With Fire

- NASA’s Aqua/MODIS imagery captured smoke from numerous fires in Australia’s Northern Territory on May 28, 2026. - Many detected fires are deliberate prescribed burns, typically lit in mornings to manage savanna fuel loads. - Indigenous practices and modern programs (e.g., WALFA, Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)

NASA-Funded Study Shows Wildfire Smoke’s Hidden Ozone Toll

NASA-Funded Study Shows Wildfire Smoke’s Hidden Ozone Toll

- A NASA-supported study found that over the past decade wildfires have increased ground-level ozone (smog) across much of the contiguous U.S., worsening air quality far from fires. - Nationally, fires offset nearly four years of ozone-control gains; in the Midwest wildfires erased about 5.3 years of progress

A Moonlit Earth as Seen From Artemis II

A Moonlit Earth as Seen From Artemis II

- An Artemis II crew member photographed Earth from the Orion spacecraft after the translunar injection burn, capturing a full-disk view on April 2, 2026. - The visible hemisphere is lit by moonlight and shows a Sun sliver, green auroras at the poles, fuzzy zodiacal light, and Venus. - High