{"id":9858,"date":"2026-03-23T16:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/?p=9858"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T20:07:51","slug":"nasas-edge-mission-taps-boise-state-as-part-of-next-generation-earth-observation-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/?p=9858","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s EDGE Mission Taps Boise State as Part of Next-Generation Earth Observation Effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boise State researchers are part of the team behind the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, or EDGE, a satellite mission concept aimed at monitoring Earth\u2019s land, ice and coastal regions that NASA selected to launch as early as 2030.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Example LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data \u201cpoint cloud\u201d showing vegetation and surface topography. The data is colored by elevation (left, in rainbow), reflectivity \u201cbrightness\u201d of the received laser pulse (middle, gray), and surface type such as vegetation, ground and water (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EDGE is one of two next-generation satellite missions announced in February. The mission will help NASA better understand changes to the Earth\u2019s surface and will create detailed 3D maps of vegetation, as well as ice formations like glaciers and sea ice. It builds on the work of two existing NASA satellites, but will do it better and more precisely.<\/p>\n

This is particularly important for ecosystems in the semi-arid west, where measuring low-height vegetation such as shrubs and vegetation on steep slopes is challenging. Accurate measurement of vegetation in these landscapes is critical for applications including fire management, grazing and recreation. Information that the mission generates will help improve capabilities for assessing pre-fire risk and evaluating post-fire impacts.<\/p>\n

Helen Amanda Fricker at UC San Diego will head the mission. Joining Fricker is Boise State\u2019s Nancy Glenn, vice president of research and economic development and professor of geosciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur faculty and students are doing exceptional work to better understand Earth\u2019s systems, and this mission creates new opportunities for collaboration across the university and beyond,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cParticipation in a NASA mission of this scale highlights the growing impact of Boise State as a research university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Enterkine, research associate in Boise State\u2019s geosciences department, also sees the value of this project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EDGE mission\u2019s global imaging capability will allow Boise State teams to bridge critical gaps between small-scale drone and ground-based surveys and existing satellite datasets,\u201d Enterkine said. \u201cThis will help translate fine-scale environmental patterns into broader regional and global insights on wildfires and water systems,.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boise State researchers use Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, data across a wide range of studies \u2014 from mapping bird habitats and modeling post-wildfire debris flows in Idaho, to assessing vegetation and carbon storage in forests and rangelands.\u00a0 The data generated through EDGE will support research in these areas, enabling Boise State researchers to advance important work that benefits both the region and the nation.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0press release issued by NASA<\/a>, Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated, \u201cNASA uses the unique vantage point of space to study our home planet to deliver life-saving data into the hands of disaster response and decision-makers every day for the benefit of all, while also informing future exploration across our solar system. By understanding Earth\u2019s surface topography, ecosystems and atmosphere, while also enabling longer range weather forecasting, these missions will help us better study the extreme environments beyond our home planet to ensure the safety of astronauts and spacecraft as we return to the Moon with the Artemis campaign and journey onward to Mars and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EDGE project has been selected for continued development as part of NASA\u2019s Earth System Explorers Program, which conducts principal investigator-led Earth science missions based on key priorities laid out by the science community and national needs.<\/p>\n

The selected missions will advance to the next phase of development, and each mission will be subject to confirmation review in 2027. This review will assess the missions\u2019 progress and the availability of funds. If confirmed, the total estimated cost of each mission, not including launch, will not exceed $355 million, with a mission launch date of no earlier than 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boise State researchers are part of the team behind the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, or EDGE, a satellite mission concept aimed at monitoring Earth\u2019s land, ice and coastal regions that NASA selected to launch as early as 2030. EDGE is one of two next-generation satellite missions announced in February. The mission will help NASA better…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":9859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/164\/2026\/03\/w1582n2452_elev_intensity_classifiedAndMulti.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9860,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858\/revisions\/9860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}