
ALT Person outdoors under a blue sky, wearing a partial mockup of an astronaut EVA suit, adjusting a device attached to the cuff of her wrist. The suit has a dark, tinted visor. Wires connect many points on the suit's periphery, and devices on various mounts extend from its skeletal structure. Photo credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
Planetary Defenders | NASA+ Original
Finding asteroids before they find us.

ALT Students onboard NASA’s DC-8 aircraft, the largest flying science laboratory in the world, help scientists from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a science project investigating air quality and non-vehicular pollution sources called AEROMMA, which measures Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

ALT Landsat 8 image taken on August 15, 2024, that shows Searles Lake and its surrounding area. It is shaped like a loose semicircle, and a white crust of salty evaporite minerals is visible across most of the lake bed. The lake also contains a small pool of dark blue water from about 8 to 9 o’clock. The area around the white crust of Searles Lake is sparsely green except for the bottom edge, which is covered in red and black evaporation ponds. The lake’s evaporation ponds are filled with brine in the spring, and when the water evaporates in the summer, it leaves behind salt crystals and minerals for mining operations. A small, isolated town labeled Trona– named after the sodium carbonate compound– is located to the top left of the lake. Yellow-green mountain ranges flank the lake to the east and west. In the bottom left corner, a road extends from Searles Lake to beyond the mountains.

ALT A black and white image of the spot where OSIRIS-REx captured the Bennu asteroid sample. The image features a close-up of a rocky rubble pile, with rocks of various sizes and shapes. Most of the rocks are roughly the same gray color as the background, but a few are a brighter white. In the center of the image, there is a relatively clear patch where the rocks are darker and smaller.

ALT A group of four people is seen prospecting for plant fossils in Berwind Canyon, CO on a rocky hillside with sparse green vegetation. They are scattered across the slope, wearing outdoor clothing and hats, and appear to be geologists or researchers. One individual is climbing the slope on the left, another is crouched in the center inspecting rocks, while two others on the right are working together, possibly collecting samples or analyzing the rock layers. The background shows a cloudy sky with some trees on top of the hill. The terrain consists of layered rock formations with loose stones and shrubs. Photo by Ellen Currano

ALT A fossil plant excavation in the Cretaceous rocks just below the K-Pg boundary at Old Raton Pass, NM. A rock hammer is embedded in the exposed rock layers, indicating geological study or sampling. The surrounding terrain is steep, with loose rock fragments scattered at the base. Sparse vegetation grows along the slope, including grasses and small shrubs. In the background, a dense forest covers rolling hills under a partly cloudy sky. The text "ORP-K" is visible in the upper left corner of the image. Photo by Ellen Currano

ALT Early Paleocene fern fossil discovered on the Vermejo Park Ranch, NM. The fossil clearly shows detailed leaf veins running from the center to the edges. The rock is irregularly shaped and rests on a beige surface, possibly a pant leg. A ruler with centimeter markings is placed alongside the fossil for scale, indicating the fossil is approximately 10 cm in width. Sunlight casts a shadow, highlighting the fossil's texture and details. Photo by Ellen Currano

























