On March 4, 2015, NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite successfully completed the initial test of its science instruments and revealed its very first image of the Earth’s soil moisture. These “first-light” images were composed of tiny slivers of data in a 40-kilometer line scan and revealed fascinating details about the Earth’s soil moisture levels. “This is just a tiny snapshot of SMAP’s capabilities,” said CEE Professor Dara Entekhabi, SMAP science team leader. “Where we are today, with just two days of data, is where other missions are after two years.” Read the MIT News article.