◓ Missions
Satellites
Active and recent NASA Earth-observing missions. Click any to see what it sees, where the data lives, what it enables.
01 Launch year → now
Mission timeline
02 Index
All satellites
s01·Landsat 9
Landsat 9
America's longest-running land-imaging satellite
Status: active · DAAC: LP DAAC
s02·Sentinel-1
Sentinel-1
Europe's all-weather, see-through-cloud radar mapper
Status: active · DAAC: ASF DAAC
s03·NISAR
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)
Dual-radar eye tracking land and ice movement
Status: active · DAAC: ASF DAAC
s04·MODIS
MODIS (on Terra + Aqua)
Twice-daily full-Earth snapshot in many colours
Status: active (Terra winding down; Aqua nominal; replacement is VIIRS) · DAAC: LP DAAC (land + atmosphere); LAADS DAAC (L1, L2 atmosphere); OB.DAAC (ocean); NSIDC DAAC (cryosphere)
s05·VIIRS
VIIRS (on S-NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21)
Daily global view, even Earth's nighttime lights
Status: active · DAAC: LAADS DAAC (L1+L2), LP DAAC (L2+L3 land), NSIDC DAAC (cryosphere), OB.DAAC (ocean)
s06·EMIT
EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)
Fingerprints dust, minerals, and methane leaks
Status: active (operational since Aug 2022, life extended) · DAAC: LP DAAC
s07·TEMPO
TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution)
Tracks air pollution hour by hour
Status: active (operational science since 2024; V04 production Sep 2025; NRT NO2/HCHO since Sep 2025) · DAAC: ASDC (Atmospheric Science Data Center, Langley)
s08·PACE
PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem)
Reveals ocean life and tiny airborne particles
Status: active · DAAC: OB.DAAC (Ocean Biology DAAC at NASA Goddard)
s09·GEDI
GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation)
Lasers that measure forest height and carbon
Status: active (primary mission 2019-2023; on-orbit storage 2023-2024; extended mission resumed Aug 2024) · DAAC: ORNL DAAC + LP DAAC
s10·ICESat-2
ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2)
Lasers that measure ice, forests, and water height
Status: active · DAAC: NSIDC DAAC
s11·SWOT
SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)
Maps the height of Earth's lakes, rivers, and seas
Status: active · DAAC: PO.DAAC
s12·GRACE-FO
GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On)
Weighs Earth's water using gravity
Status: active · DAAC: PO.DAAC
s13·SMAP
SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive)
Measures how wet the world's soil is
Status: active (passive radiometer only since 2015-07; active radar failed) · DAAC: NSIDC DAAC (cryosphere DAAC happens to host SMAP)
s14·OCO-2/3
OCO-2 + OCO-3 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory)
Maps carbon dioxide in the air from space
Status: both active · DAAC: GES DISC
s15·SDO
SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory)
Watches the Sun around the clock
Status: active · DAAC: SDO Joint Science Operations Center (JSOC) at Stanford — distributes via JSOC, not via a standard NASA DAAC
s16·GPM / IMERG
GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) + IMERG
Tracks rain and snow across the whole planet
Status: active · DAAC: GES DISC
s17·Aura
Aura (OMI + MLS)
Guards the ozone layer and tracks pollution
Status: active (extended mission; OMI degraded since 2007 row-anomaly) · DAAC: GES DISC (Aura standard products); ASDC (TES legacy)
s18·ECOSTRESS
ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station)
Spots thirsty plants and city heat from space
Status: active · DAAC: LP DAAC
s19·AIRS
AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder)
Takes the atmosphere's temperature and humidity
Status: active (on Aqua) · DAAC: GES DISC
s20·PREFIRE
PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment)
Measures heat escaping from the poles
Status: active (operational data since August 2025) · DAAC: ASDC (Atmospheric Science Data Center)
s21·Sentinel-2
Sentinel-2
Europe's 10-metre true-colour land camera
Status: active · DAAC: none (ESA mission — not distributed by a NASA DAAC)
s22·Sentinel-3
Sentinel-3
Ocean-colour and sea-surface-temperature watcher
Status: active · DAAC: none (ESA/EUMETSAT mission — not distributed by a NASA DAAC)
s23·Sentinel-5P
Sentinel-5P (TROPOMI)
Daily global air-pollution mapper
Status: active · DAAC: none (ESA mission); NASA GES DISC distributes select TROPOMI products
s24·GOES-R
GOES-R Series (GOES-16 / 18 / 19)
Always-on storm watch over the Americas
Status: active · DAAC: none (NOAA mission — not distributed by a NASA DAAC)