Using Landsat 7 data, NASA glaciologist Bob Bindschadler saw a thin, 15-mile crack in the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica. A major break was forming in the Antarctic ice, and we caught it in the act. The growth of the crack has slowed. It may take as long as a year and a half for the iceberg to completely separate. That pace has only increased through the 90s and into the 21st century.
Brazil is also home to more than a quarter of Earth's tropical forests.
Considering that the band of lush green that circles the globe through many equatorial nations is fundamental to the overall health of the whole planet's environment, careful monitoring of forest health in the tropics is essential. If this is correct, the new experimental satellite will pave the road for future, continued development of the Landsat data legacy. For the first time ever, NASA is flying spacecraft in formation with other research satellites. In the first satellite maneuver of its kind, EO-1 is in an orbit just behind Landsat 7. This places the two spacecraft approximately 270 miles apart, plus or minus about 30 miles.