Happy Earth Day everyone! Do something green today?

In commemoration of this day, NASA released the results of a week long online voting survey of the top accomplishments the agency has performed with Earth observations from space. The overall winner with 3280 votes? “Finding your way with GPS”. Here’s NASA’s description of this accomplishment:

“Behind the power of today’s GPS units to get you where you need to go is a huge body of scientific knowledge about our spinning, shifting Earth. We live on an active planet where every piece of real estate moves relative to each other. Precise navigation with GPS satellites would be impossible without ultra-precise knowledge of Earth’s shape and how it rotates. NASA pioneered much of this work with a global network of laser ranging satellites and super-charged GPS receivers to monitor daily changes in Earth’s surface. Oh, and there are side benefits like tracking the movement of tectonic faults, measuring sea level rise, and making air travel safer.”

The above picture is of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS I), which was launched back in 1976.

The other winners (ordered by votes) were:

2. Diagnosing Our Ailing Ozone Layer (2408)
3. From Storm-Spotting to Next Week’s Weather (2313)
4. Warming and Rising Seas (1443)
5. Global Reach of Air Pollution (1321)
6. Ice Sheets on the Move (1151)
7. It’s a Big Green World (1102)
8. Predicting Feast or Famine (856)
9. A Lively Water World (631)
10. Ultimate Home Energy Audit (543)

[Check it out via News.com]

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