NASA says goodbye to Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite after 17 years

The first to map active lava flows from space. The first to measure a facility's methane leak from space. The first to track re-growth in a partially logged Amazon forest from space. After 17 years in orbit, one of NASA's pathfinder Earth satellites for testing new satellite technologies and concepts comes to an end on March 30, 2017. The Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite will be powered off on that date but will not enter Earth's atmosphere until 2056. Launched on Nov. 21, 2000, EO-1 was designed as a technology validation mission focused on testing cutting-edge satellite and instrument technologies that could be incorporated into future missions. More

(Source: Phys.org - Mar 18)