Earth Day: Online Vote for Top NASA Planet Earth Achievements

Storm spotting? Tracking ecosystems by satellite? Predicting food shortages? Just what do you think has been the most important contribution NASA has made in exploring our most important planet, Earth?

Scientists and researchers have used a variety of highest-tech tools provided by NASA to try and understand our planet, from orbital satellites and flying laboratories to advanced computing capabilities.

Online Survey

In conjunction with Earth Day, April 22d, NASA is conducting an online survey now underway until 4pm, EDT, April 21st. Results of the poll will be announced on the NASA web site on Earth Day.

NASA presents you with the choice of its ten most important achievements over the past 50 years in space, as determined last year by the National Academy of Sciences. You can vote for up to three.

Top Ten

The achievements include storm-spotting and weather prediction made possible by an orbital fleet of sensors that have, of course, not perfected weather prediction (if that's even possible) but have immeasurably improved it.

There are a variety of eco-system studies that focus on such issues as measuring the greenness of chlorophyll in plants, the expanding growing season in the far north, and the El Nino effect on ocean algae and fisheries.

Does NASA tracking air pollution get your vote because of its contributions through analysis of the impact of volcanic eruption, the effects of pollution from country to country, and the mapping of ozone pollution low in the atmosphere?

Or how about the study of energy emissions, through which NASA has measured shifts in solar energy output reaching the plant, the amount of energy directed away from the plant by volcanic eruption, and other knowledge which contributes to our understanding of the human role in climate change?

NASA has provided a continuous record of ocean surface temperatures since the 1970's and that has provided evidence of global warming, so maybe you'll vote for contributions made through study of the warming and rising seas.

You can cast a ballot for the precise knowledge gained about the Earth that makes GPS navigation possible, the tracking of the polar ice sheets, the orbital examination of agricultural crops that helps determine yield and other related information, the studies of the changing oceans which led to a better understanding of the weather-changing impact of El Nino, or studies of the human impact on the condition of the ozone layer.

Remember, you can vote for three of the ten options.

To cast a ballot, go to http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/earthday/greatest_hits.html