NASA’s newest communications antenna became operational today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks. The antenna will increase the agency’s communications support to Earth-observing missions. NASA spacecraft collect massive amounts of scientific data every day, but there are no fiber cables or internet hookups in space. How do they transmit that […]
This week NOAA Fisheries scientists hope to witness the changing colors of the Bering Sea as they investigate why it happens and what it means for the ecosystem that supports the Nation’s biggest fisheries. In the summer of 1997, for the first time anyone could remember, a vast swath of the deep blue Bering Sea […]
A thrilling epoch in the exploration of our solar system came to a close today, as NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet. “This is the final chapter of an amazing mission, but it’s also a new beginning,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator […]
Like old-growth trees in a forest, old fish in the ocean play important roles in the diversity and stability of marine ecosystems. Critically, the longer a fish is allowed to live, the more likely it is to successfully reproduce over the course of its lifetime, which is particularly important in variable environmental conditions. A new study by […]