NASA Headquarters
The Earth Information Center at NASA Headquarters includes a large video Hyperwall, an immersive film called “Space for Earth”, interactive touchscreens, and an LED sculpture called “Earth Pulse” which tracks communications between Earth missions and ground receiving stations. Visits usually take 15-30 minutes.
See More| Admission | Free |
|---|---|
| Hours | Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:30pm |
| Address | Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters East Lobby 300 E St. SW Washington, DC 20546 |
| Group Visits | For organized groups and schools planning a visit, please reach out via our contact form. |
FEATURES
The Hyperwall features videos, dashboards with real-time data on Earth systems, along with an integrated view of our planet. The Earth Information Center collects information about Earth on a variety of scales ranging from ground-based data to space-based observations from all our inter-agency partners. Collecting information at each scale is important and, when combined, provides a comprehensive understanding of how the components of the atmosphere, land and ocean influence each other. With this understanding the datasets become more powerful tools for decision-making.
Space for Earth is an immersive audio-visual installation that invites viewers to experience Earth as can only be seen from space — as an interconnected world, lacking boundaries or limits. This interactive and immersive audio-visual installation invites visitors to observe, interact with, and become part of the data different federal agencies use to understand our planet. Space for Earth welcomes guests in groups of up to 7 at a time.
The Earth Pulse is an LED sculpture that displays live communication with a selection of the NASA/NOAA/USGS fleet of satellites that study the Earth. Activity in the lights means data is being transmitted, with the amount of light indicating the amount of data being transferred. The name of the specific mission communicating the data is indicated in lights on the sculpture.
Watch the data streams and imagine what they reveal about our Earth!
Planet Pen is an interactive experience designed around the idea of seeing Earth from above, like an astronaut. This experience provides a quick and fun way to explore astronaut photography of Earth taken from the International Space Station. Visitors are prompted to draw shapes and lines and these are used to find near identical shapes in Earth's landscapes. Visitors are provided with information about the image shown.
This interactive tool allows users to fly along with NASA's Earth observing missions in real-time, view satellite imagery of recent weather events, and monitor some of Earth's current measurements, including temperature, atmospheric ozone, and groundwater. The kiosk has a touch screen for users to scroll to their location of interest, select a satellite to learn more about a missions, and interact with the 3D globe.
