Most materials published on the Earth Observatory, including images, are freely available for re-publication or re-use, including commercial purposes, except for where copyright is indicated. In those cases, you must obtain the copyright holder’s permission; we usually provide links to the organization that holds the copyright.
We ask that NASA’s Earth Observatory be given credit for its original materials; the only mandatory credit is NASA.
For more information about using NASA imagery visit the Media Usage Guidelines page.
The highest resolution of a single pixel that we publish is from astronaut photography. The resolution varies by lens and can capture up to 3-meters (˜10 feet) in spatial resolution. You can see houses and streets at this resolution, but they are not very clear. Also, because this data is taken by a human on the International Space Station, there most likely is not a consistent revisit period. The rest of the satellite imagery we have has a minimum spatial resolution of 10 meters (˜33 feet).
We usually provide a download link below each image. You can also access all of the formats and resolutions we have available for an image on visibleearth.nasa.gov.
WorldView is a great place for accessing imagery of natural events beyond what Earth Observatory covers. To find out more about which NASA satellite datasets can be used for researching natural events, check out the Disasters Data Pathfinder on Earthdata.
Here are a few helpful resources to get you started on finding a position at NASA:
We encourage you to also check out space agency opportunities within your home country if you are living outside the United States—NASA partners with other agencies globally!
Our website is designed to focus primarily on Earth or stories that tie back to Earth. There are other NASA websites that focus on other planets and astronomical bodies in our solar system. Here are a few:
NASA Earthdata provides access to NASA’s Earth science data. Start in the Getting Started section to learn about searching and retrieving data.
NASA has several resources to learn more about remote sensing beyond content on our site. Visit these links to learn more:
