Recognition for NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) in its 25th anniversary year has come from all directions, from NASA's Near Earth Network (NEN) to the Alaska state legislature.
Since 1991, ASF has provided synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and imagery from key Earth-observing satellite sensors to a growing community of international researchers. As one of 12 NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers, ASF archives and distributes more than 2.5 petabytes of SAR data to scientists studying subjects that include ecology, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers, permafrost, oil spills, climate change, and more.
At an anniversary celebration held in June, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen noted "the importance of the Alaska Satellite Facility not only to UAF and Alaska, but to the international research community, enhancing UAF's strength as America's Arctic research university."
A 25th-anniversary open house drew 300 members of the local community to participate in activities suitable for all ages. They featured a First Friday art show highlighting imagery from satellites, including radar images of Earth; activities and exhibits, including coloring books, do-it-yourself satellite-model construction, unmanned aircraft and rocketry; and scientific posters depicting research using SAR.