With U.S. funding promised until at least 2024, the scientists and engineering managers charged with getting maximum use out of the International Space Station are touting its unique advantages as a place to observe the Earth from above. Two of NASA's five Earth-science missions planned this year will operate on the ISS, and the non-profit organization set up to attract commercial users to the station has just released a request for Earth-observation proposals. Both reflect the growing presence of Earth-facing instruments on the massive orbital outpost.

Water, the stuff of life, can also be deadly if there is too much of it, or not enough, or if it is too cold or hot. A new $1.2 billion international spacecraft mission will give scientists, forecasters and first-responders a map of where the water is on Earth, with unprecedented detail, every 3 hr.

Johnson sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

After two years of contentious debate, the European Commission has a freshly minted budget of €10 billion ($13.7 billion) over seven years with which to complete and launch two new flagship space programs: the Galileo satellite navigation constellation and the Copernicus Earth-observation system. With some half-dozen spacecraft dedicated to the two programs set to launch this year, the EC's next task is to figure out how to use them.

The space agencies that operate the International Space Station—and their other spaceflight partners—likely will be using its facilities to prepare for a push to the Moon and beyond, as well as trying to promote its commercial use. Top managers from more than 30 space agencies who met in Washington Jan. 9-10 were unanimous in their consensus joint statement that deep-space exploration should be based on the ISS model.

In its highest and longest ascent to date, NASA's Morpheus prototype planetary lander flew to an estimated 305 ft. and traversed 358 ft. during a 64-sec. free flight at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Jan. 21.

Competition forces tough decisions on Europe's launch sector this year

NASA crew competition tightens with safety-certification bids