NASA is taking the first steps toward Internet-like connectivity among its future Earth-sensing satellites. The agency is funding 30 research proposals known as "Sensor Web" to help solve the massive challenge of collecting, processing, routing and storing Earth science data.

Telltale lightning flashes occurring within storm clouds may provide forecasters with an early clue of tornado outbreaks. Using observations from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission spacecraft, researchers have documented several cases in which lightning rates increased dramatically as tornadoes developed.

A year after launch, Landsat 7 continues to serve a wide variety of "Earth customers." With more than 90,000 images collected so far, the NASA satellite has observed the recent floods in Mozambique; volcanic eruptions in Alaska, Hawaii, and Italy; receding glaciers in the Alps; deforestation in the tropics; and wildfires in Siberia and the outback of Australia.

Terra, NASA's premier Earth Observing System satellite, is officially "open for business." First glimpse images of North America, the Indian subcontinent, and "spring greening" were among the observations from Terra's scientific instruments presented today at a NASA press briefing.

There was a 60 percent loss of ozone at 60,000 ft. in the Arctic sky near the North Pole last winter, one of the coldest on record, according to NASA and a team of international scientists who completed the largest field study of its kind in the region. The ozone loss is one of the worst measured at that altitude in the Arctic, researchers said.

NASA technology developed for use in the cold reaches of space is helping researchers fight back against sweltering urban heat here on Earth. With data from satellites and aircraft, city planners can determine ways to reduce heat islands, such as installing reflective roofing and paving materials to bounce thermal energy back into the atmosphere.