(AGENPARL) – mer 21 giugno 2023 June 21, 2023 
RELEASE 23-074
*NASA Holds Ribbon Cutting for New Earth Information Center*
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, center, cuts the ribbon to open NASA’s
Earth Information Center alongside agency leadership and leadership from
NOAA, USGS, USDA, USAID, EPA, and FEMA, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at the Mary
W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Earth Information
Center is new immersive experience that combines live data sets with
cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling to allow visitors to see how
our planet is changing.
*/Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson led a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday to
showcase a new Earth Information Center at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The center is part physical space and part virtual experience, which shows
how NASA data can improve lives in the face of disasters, environmental
challenges, and our changing world.
The agency also launched its corresponding Earth Information Center [1]
website as part of the event. The ribbon cutting ceremony comes ahead of a
public opening of the center Monday, June 26.
Climate change is a key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, and NASA
plays a critical role in providing data to researchers and others through its
extensive Earth-monitoring constellation of satellites. For six decades, NASA
satellites, sensors, and scientists have collected observations about our
home planet – and at the Earth Information Center, the public can glimpse
what this data has taught us about sea level rise, air quality, wildfires,
greenhouse gases, energy, and agriculture.
“For more than 60 years, NASA has used our vantage point of space to
observe Earth with satellites and instruments aboard the International Space
Station to collect vital, life-saving data,” said NASA Administrator Bill
Nelson. “To meet the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of making this
data more understandable, accessible, and usable for everyone, NASA is
opening the Earth Information Center. From firefighters that rely on NASA
data for wildfire management to farmers who need to know when and where to
plant crops, the Earth Information Center will help more people
make informed decisions every day.”
Whether they live in cities, suburban areas, or on farms, people around the
nation can access information to understand our dynamic planet and prepare
for impacts of climate change. NASA collects and shares data that can help
everyone from coastal including home buyers assessing flood risk; businesses
on the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes looking for information on harmful
algal blooms; farmers requiring drought and storm information; and county
land-use planners assessing wildfire management.
“NASA data powers resources across the U.S. and around the world, helping
communities prepare for a changing climate,” said Kate Calvin, NASA’s
chief scientist and senior climate advisor, who emceed the ribbon cutting.
“The Earth Information Center benefits humanity by providing easily
accessible and readily usable Earth information – helping people see our
home planet the way NASA sees it.”
Additional speakers at the event included:
* Karen St. Germain, director, NASA’s Earth Sciences Division
* Dave Applegate, director, USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)
* Janet McCabe, deputy administrator, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
* Erik Hook, deputy administrator, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management
Administration)
* Michael Morgan, assistant secretary of Commerce for Environmental
Observation and Prediction, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration)
* Mike Michener, deputy assistant administrator, Bureau of Resilience and
Food Security, USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development)
* Marlen Eve, deputy administrator, Agriculture Research Service, USDA (U.S.
Department of Agriculture)
* Dwane Roth, Big D Farms, Kansas
NASA created the Earth Information Center with founding partners FEMA, EPA,
NOAA, USAID, USDA and USGS. The Earth Information Center draws data from
research conducted by NASA’s centers and government and industry partners.
The interactive physical exhibit is located in the east lobby of NASA
Headquarters in Washington, where visitors are invited to see Earth as NASA
astronauts see it from space. When it opens to the public June 26, visitors
can tour the exhibit from 8:30 a.m. EDT to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Learn more about the Earth Information Center at:
*https://go.nasa.gov/eic* [2]
-end-
*Press Contacts*
Jackie McGuinness
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
Karen Fox / Katherine Rohloff
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
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[1] https://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/earth-information-center
[2] https://go.nasa.gov/eic