Science Communication Material

An EPIC View of Earth and the Far Side of the Moon
DSCOVR_Lenticular_8_508.pdf

On July 16, 2015, a NASA camera onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite returned a series of images of the entire sunlit side of Earth and the moon from its orbit at the first Lagrange point (L1)—a neutral gravity point between Earth and the sun, which is about 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. These images from the series, taken by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) between 3:50 PM and 8:45 PM EDT, show the fully illuminated far side of the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America. Also referred to as the “dark side,” this side of the moon is not visible from Earth. The far side lacks the large, dark, basaltic plains, or maria, that are so prominent on the Earth-facing side. The largest far side maria is the Mare Moscoviense [~170 miles (245 kilometers) in diameter] in the upper left quadrant. As the DSCOVR spacecraft slowly orbits around L1 (always viewing the sunlit side of Earth), the area of reflected sunlight near the center of the globe remains stationary, while the moon crosses the face of the Earth’s surface and Earth appears to rotate from left (west) to right (east). The North Pole is in the upper left quadrant of the globe. The primary objective of DSCOVR—a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Air Force—is to maintain the nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts from NOAA.

Astrophysics
Astrophysics Brochure_508.pdf

Discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars.

COP-22 Hyperwall Content
NASA_COP22_Hyperwall Brochure 2016.pdf

This brochure provides information about the content displayed on NASA's Hyperwall in the U.S. Center at the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-20) held November 7-18, 2016, in Marrakech, Morocco.

CYGNSS Mission Brochure
CYGNSS_508.pdf, CYGNSS.ibooks

This brochure provides an overview of NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission--NASA’s first satellite mission to measure surface winds in the inner core of tropical cyclones, including regions beneath the eyewall and intense inner rainbands that could not previously be measured from space. These measurements will help scientists obtain a better understanding of what causes variations in tropical cyclone intensity, helping to improve our ability to forecast tropical cyclones such as Hurricane Katrina.

Earth System Ruler
Ruler_508.pdf

Like the human body, Earth comprises diverse processes and systems that interact with one another in complex ways. The purpose of NASA’s Earth science program is to advance our scientific understanding of Earth as an integrated system and its response to natural and human-induced changes. NASA works with its domestic and international partners to support a large number of Earth-observing satellite and airborne missions to observe and understand our planet on global and regional scales. These missions are able to collect measurements of surface temperature, winds, water vapor, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, ocean salinity, and other aspects of the environment. While scientists learn a great deal from studying individual phenomena, improved observational capabilities, coupled with process-level and global numerical models increasingly allow them to study component system interactions, leading to unprecedented insight into how Earth functions as one integrated system of systems.

El Niño and La Niña
El Niño-La Niña PDF (2.6 MB)

This lenticular flip card shows El Niño (December 27, 2015), neutral (January 15, 2014), and La Niña (November 15, 1999) sea surface heights relative to a reference state established in 1992. In the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, the sea surface height during El Niño was higher by more than 18 cm over a large longitudinal region.

NASA Science Program Support Office Annual Report 2016
NASA SPSO 2016 Annual Report PDF (5.27 MB)

The Science Program Support Office (SPSO) supported 25 domestic and international science conferences and public events in FY2016. The SPSO strives to provide an inspiring and interactive venue for every event during the year, using a unique storytelling approach that allows a variety of audiences worldwide to connect with NASA Science. The 2016 Annual Report provides a broad overview of these activities, along with details about new Hyperwall stories, publications, social media, key partnerships, and more!

NASA Science Resource Brochure
NASA Science Resources.pdf

This brochure contains a variety of useful links—a great resource for those interested in exploring the many facets of NASA. Have fun exploring!

Ocean Phytoplankton, El Niño and La Niña
Ocean Phytoplankton PDF (2.8 MB)

This lenticular flip card shows monthly sea surface chlorophyll in the Pacific Ocean as observed during El Niño (December 2015), neutral (December 2013), and La Niña (December 1999) conditions. Due to warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures, increased stratification, and a decrease in upwelled ocean nutrients, El Niño conditions in 2015 caused the local marine food web to experience loss of its usual food supply.

Sensing Gravity from Space: GRACE Follow-On
GRACE Follow-On Lenticular (6.8 MB)

The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission will map variations in Earth’s gravitational field. GRACE-FO is a successor to the original GRACE mission, which began orbiting Earth on March 17, 2002. Unlike other missions, the GRACE satellites together form the “instrument”: Two identical spacecraft, orbiting Earth at about 220 km (137 mi) apart, will constantly send signals to each other to measure and track how the distance between them changes as gravity pulls on each satellite. This lenticular card illustrates the movements of the satellites as they pass southward from the Caribbean Sea across Colombia and Peru (i.e., a denser landmass) to the Pacific Ocean.