NASA’s ability to observe global change on regional scales and conduct research on the causes and consequences of change position it to address the Agency strategic objective for Earth science, which is to advance knowledge of Earth as a system to meet the challenges of environmental change, and to improve life on our planet. NASA addresses the issues and opportunities of climate change and environmental sensitivity by answering the following key science questions through our Earth science program:

• How is the global Earth system changing?
• What causes these changes in the Earth system?
• How will the Earth system change in the future?
• How can Earth system science provide societal benefit?

Learn more in NASA's 2014 Science Plan (5.5 MB)