Saving Biodiversity in Africa: NASA + The Smithsonian | NASA Earth Science at Risk
NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request is cutting NASA's total science budget by nearly 50%, affecting many Earth science missions. For example, the Landsat NEXT satellite planned by NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been cancelled. It was designed to "ensure continuity of the longest space-based record of Earth’s land surface and fundamentally transform the breadth and depth of actionable Earth Observation information freely available to end users." Landsat Next would have collected, on average, about 20 times more data than its predecessor, Landsat 9. Funding reductions at NASA will result in the cancellation of 19 active science missions and end several planned ones deemed crucial by the National Academy of Sciences, including those involving partnerships with international space agencies.
Biodiverse ecosystems need protection. Through fieldwork, coordination with local partners, and satellite observations, NASA and the Smithsonian are working hard to protect them. After years of forest loss, chimpanzee habitats are recovering. This is, in part, due to a collaboration between NASA and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). Using NASA Earth science satellite and other data, the Goodall Institute puts data into the hands of local communities to drive conservation across Africa’s equatorial forest belt.
The Scimitar-horned oryx was marked from extinct in the wild to endangered in the wild thanks to the Smithsonian’s work with partners to re-introduce the species to part of its original range in Chad. After successful breeding through the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, scientists are now monitoring nearly every oryx via GPS-tracking collars.
https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-next/
Video optimized for Earth Information Center (EIC) display.
Duration: 5 minutes
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about NASA's severe science budget cuts: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
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