NASA & GLOBE Connect People, Land, and Space
NASA’s GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) program is expanding its initiative to engage citizen scientists in environmental monitoring by introducing a new feature that connects volunteers’ land cover observations with satellite data. This enhancement aims to deepen the understanding of how local observations fit into the broader context of Earth science. For instance, students participating in the GLOBE program at the Oldham County Public Library in La Grange, Kentucky, are encouraged to collect environmental data, such as cloud observations, and share their findings with NASA. The excitement among young participants is palpable, especially when they receive feedback from NASA that links their observations with satellite data, reinforcing their role as active contributors to scientific research.
The newly launched satellite comparison emails will allow GLOBE volunteers to receive weekly updates that compare their submitted land cover observations with data from NASA’s Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites. Each email will include a link to a comparison table, showcasing the volunteer’s observation alongside a satellite-based assessment of the land cover at that specific location. This initiative not only provides valuable insights into the changing state of the Earth’s environment but also fosters a sense of connection between local efforts and global scientific endeavors. Tina Rogerson, who oversees the satellite comparison emails at NASA Langley Research Center, emphasizes the importance of this feedback, stating that it serves as a significant motivator for volunteers, encouraging them to continue their participation in citizen science.
By integrating land cover observations into the existing framework of satellite comparisons, NASA aims to enhance public awareness of the critical role that citizen scientists play in monitoring our planet. Volunteers can see how their contributions fit into a larger scientific narrative, ultimately promoting a deeper understanding of environmental issues and the importance of data collection. This initiative not only empowers individuals to become active participants in scientific research but also helps NASA gather long-term environmental data that can inform societal needs and responses to climate change. As Rogerson notes, bringing real science into the lives of volunteers is a key goal of the GLOBE program, and this new feature is a significant step in that direction.
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NASA & GLOBE Connect People, Land, and Space
The GLOBE Land Cover satellite comparison table is generated weekly for every GLOBE Land Cover observation. GLOBE volunteers receive an email with a link to the table. Information about the table may be found on the GLOBE Observer website.
A group of elementary-aged students gather outside of Oldham County Public Library in La Grange, Kentucky, United States to look at clouds in the sky. “If anyone asks what you are doing, tell them, ‘I am a citizen scientist and I am helping NASA,’” Children’s Programming Librarian, Cheri Grinnell, tells the kids. Grinnell supports an afterschool program called Leopard Spot where she engages K-5 students in collecting environmental data with the
GLOBE (Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program
.
“One little boy really got excited about that, and I heard him tell his mom he was working for NASA as they were leaving,” says Grinnell. That idea is reinforced when the program receives an email from NASA with satellite data that align with the cloud data the students submitted. “I forwarded the NASA satellite response to the after-school coordinator, and she read it to them. That really excited them because it was evidence this is the real deal.”
This experience is one the GLOBE Observer Team (part of the NASA Science Activation program’s NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative, NESEC) hears often: GLOBE volunteers of all ages love getting an email from NASA that compares satellite data with their cloud observations. “Feedback from NASA is huge. It’s the hook,” says Tina Rogerson, the programmer at NASA Langley Research Center who manages the satellite comparison emails. “It ties NASA science into what they saw when they did the observation.”
Now, volunteers will have more opportunities to receive a satellite comparison email from NASA.
GLOBE recently announced
that, in addition to sending emails about satellite data that align with the cloud observations made by learners, they will now also be sending emails that compare the GLOBE Observer Land Cover observations made by learners with satellite data. The new satellite comparison for land cover builds on the system used to create cloud comparisons at NASA Langley Research Center.
When a volunteer receives the email, they will see a link for each observation they have submitted. The link will open a website with a satellite comparison table. Their observation is at the top, followed by a satellite-based assessment of the land cover at that location. The last row of the table shows the most recent Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellite images of the observation site. Rogerson pulls GLOBE land cover data from the public GLOBE database to generate and send the comparison tables on a weekly basis. While users may opt out of receiving these emails, most participants will be excited to review their data from the space perspective.
These new collocated land cover observations are expected to raise greater awareness of how NASA and its interagency partners observe our changing home planet from space in order to inform societal needs. They will help every GLOBE volunteer see how their observations of the land fit in with the wider space-based view and how they are participating in the process of science. Based on the response to cloud satellite emails, seeing that bigger, impactful perspective via the satellite comparison email is motivating. The hope is to encourage volunteers to continue being NASA citizen scientists, collecting Earth system observations for GLOBE’s long-term environmental record.
“I’m excited that land cover is finally becoming part of the operational satellite comparison system,” says Rogerson. This means that GLOBE volunteers will routinely receive satellite data for both land cover and clouds. “We are bringing real science right into your world.”
NESEC, led by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AE28A, is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond:
https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
.
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Last Updated
Nov 25, 2025
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NASA Science Editorial Team
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