Army Cpl. Freddie Stowers served as an infantryman during World War I and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor more than 70 years after his heroic actions in France in September 1918.
Source: www.war.gov
Day: September 11, 2026
Memorials at Fort Knox Represent Daily Reminders of 9/11
Four unassuming memorials offer daily reminders of 9/11 at and around Fort Knox, Ky.
Source: www.war.gov
Airman Runs 2,977 Miles Honoring 9/11 Victims
Air Force Capt. Hanna Born is on a personal mission to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by running 2,977 miles — one mile for each person killed that day.
Source: www.war.gov
North Carolina National Guardsman Honors 9/11 Victims With Dual Service
For some, remembering 9/11 means passing the stories of that day from one generation to the next. For others like Army 1st Sgt. Robert Henderson, it means answering the call to serve as a soldier, police officer, firefighter or other first responder.
Source: www.war.gov
Steel and Stone: Army Corps of Engineers Reflects on 9/11 25 Years Later
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the National Museum of the United States Army opened an exhibit that chronicles what the Army and the Army Corps of Engineers did in the minutes, days and months following the tragedy to help the nation rebuild.
Source: www.war.gov
Fort Leonard Wood Soldier Reflects on Enlisting After 9/11 Attacks
After the 9/11 attacks, watching from the tarmac was no longer enough for Army Lt. Col. Julie Kendrick. She traded in her airline uniform for camouflage — stepping forward to enlist as a unit supply specialist and to fuel the fight from the front lines.
Source: www.war.gov
Signers of the Declaration of Independence: Maryland, Part 1
Maryland had four delegates to the Second Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Charles Carroll had the most to lose.
Source: www.war.gov
Retired Texas Air National Guard Pilot Recalls Protecting Air Force One on 9/11
Retired Air Force Col. Rolando Aguilar, a former Texas Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, remembers the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a day off that turned into a scramble to intercept an inbound aircraft he didn’t yet know was Air Force One.
Source: www.war.gov
Drought Intensifies Across Puerto Rico
The month of May typically marks the onset of the wet season in Puerto Rico. But in 2026, rain had largely failed to materialize as of late August, and much of the U.S. territory found itself in the throes of drought. The dry conditions have contributed to water shortages and rationing in some areas, leading Puerto Rico’s governor to declare a state of emergency in late July and the U.S. government to issue a drought disaster declaration for more than two dozen cities and towns in late August.
This map depicts the extent and severity of drought in Puerto Rico on August 25, 2026. It was produced by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA. NASA has contributed Earth observations and expertise to the project for many years, and in 2026, the partnership was strengthened when two agency scientists joined the small team that authors the weekly drought assessments.
Effects of the hot and dry conditions appeared in a variety of satellite data products and ground-based observations that the U.S. Drought Monitor considers when creating its weekly assessments, said David Mocko, a senior research scientist in the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. For recent updates to Puerto Rico’s drought maps, satellite estimates of soil moisture, as well as weather, streamflow, and well observations, were particularly important factors, he said. Mocko authored the U.S. Drought Monitor update for August 18, 2026. He and Jonathan Case of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center are the first from the agency to produce the weekly maps.
As of August 25, 2026, three-quarters of Puerto Rico was experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the group’s assessment. Zones of extreme drought (dark orange) in the eastern and southwestern regions of the main island had expanded in the previous week to cover 44 percent of the territory.
Three months earlier, no part of Puerto Rico was experiencing drought, and less than 20 percent of its area was classified as abnormally dry. Conditions were wetter than normal across the U.S. Caribbean in late winter and early spring, the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) reported—but then they dried significantly.
From mid-May through mid-July, most of Puerto Rico received less than 60 percent of normal precipitation, according to NIDIS. In southern and southwestern areas, rainfall totals were less than 20 percent of normal, amounting to a deficit of 3 to 6 inches (76 to 152 millimeters). Unusually high temperatures contributed to the drying—San Juan had one of its warmest Julys on record, for example. Streamflow reached record lows in rivers such as the Rio Fajardo in the northeast.
Strained water resources have affected farmers, ranchers, and residents across the territory. Water rationing has been in place for several municipalities since early August, according to news reports, with observers noting that infrastructure issues have exacerbated shortages. For farmers, parched soils have impacted the growth of everything from fruit and cacao trees to banana and coffee plants, leading to crop losses, while ranchers face depleting hay reserves.
U.S. Drought Monitor maps, published since 1999, assist federal, state, local, and tribal decision makers with drought response. The USDA, for instance, uses them in a “fast track” process for disaster designations, which can then direct emergency resources to those affected.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Story by Lindsey Doermann.
References & Resources
- AP News (2026, August 26) US declares drought disaster for parts of Puerto Rico as dry conditions persist. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- National Centers for Environmental Information (2026, June 11) Drought Defined: A Deep Dive into the U.S. Drought Monitor. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- National Integrated Drought Information System (2026, July 23) Drought Update for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (2026, August 26) Governor Announces USDA Approval of Drought Disaster Declaration for Puerto Rico. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville (2026, March 31) UAH Earth System Science Center scientist selected as U.S. Drought Monitor author. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- U.S. Drought Monitor (2026, August 27) Puerto Rico. Accessed September 1, 2026.
- Yale Climate Connections (2026, August 13) What you need to know about the water crisis in Puerto Rico. Accessed September 1, 2026.
You may also be interested in:
Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.
Elephant Butte Reservoir Runs Low
3 min read
Drought in the Rio Grande basin contributed to New Mexico’s largest reservoir dwindling to its lowest level in decades.
Article
Low Water at San Carlos Reservoir
4 min read
Drought and water releases drained the Arizona reservoir to levels that have led to widespread fish deaths.
Article
Examining Algal Blooms in Blue Mesa
5 min read
Using satellite data, researchers connected harmful algal blooms with warm water and low water levels at one of Colorado’s largest…
Article
Source: science.nasa.gov
Monterrey Amid Mountains
August 26, 2026
The curving, parallel mountain ridges of the Sierra Madre Oriental are an eye-catching feature of northeastern Mexico’s landscape. The spot where these folds nestle up against Mexico’s second-largest metropolitan area captured the attention of an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, who took this photo on August 26, 2026.
Monterrey, the capital of the state of Nuevo León, is an industrial hub supporting heavy industries such as ironworks and steelworks, as well as manufacturing facilities for goods ranging from textiles to processed foods to glass and plastics. The metropolitan area is home to 5.3 million people, according to the 2020 census. And while the city has seen overall population growth since 1990, the number of people living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the city center has declined, researchers have found—a trajectory shared with many of Mexico’s metropolitan areas.
In Monterrey’s case, urban expansion runs up against some unforgiving terrain. Along the city’s southern edge, layers of limestone, deposited in the late Mesozoic era and then folded between about 80 and 50 million years ago, form the Sierra Madre Oriental. Over millions of years, weaker rock layers have eroded away, leaving behind the distinct ridgelines that bound Monterrey today.
The Río Santa Catarina carves through the mountains and onto the semiarid floodplain where the city lies. Because of the dry environment, the river carries little to no water for much of the time. But its channel is crucial for collecting runoff from summer rains and serves as an important natural area for plant and animal life within the city.
The river runs through Monterrey’s urban core and between several island-like protrusions of folded rock. One of these is the Sierra Las Mitras, a state nature reserve established in 2000. The mountain ridge rises approximately 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) over the city and provides a haven for wildlife. As conditions become cooler and wetter with higher elevations, vegetation turns from cacti and thorny shrubs on lower rocky slopes to oak and pine forests higher on the ridge. Cerro de la Silla (Mount Silla or Saddle Hill) is another prominent feature of the landscape, contrasting with the built environment.
Near the city’s border with the Sierra Madre Oriental sits Universidad de Monterrey, a host venue for the NASA Space Apps Challenge. This annual hackathon will take place in November 2026 in person and virtually at sites around the world. Participating teams use NASA and partner agency data to tackle challenges in fields such as software development, astrophysics, space exploration, and agriculture.
Astronaut photograph ISS075-E-70481 was acquired on August 26, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 400 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 75 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Lindsey Doermann.
References & Resources
- International Parks, Sierra de las Mitras. Accessed September 10, 2026.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2020, November 27) A Sliver of Mexico’s “Mother Mountain Range.” Accessed September 10, 2026.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2017, May 10) Mount Silla and Monterrey. Accessed September 10, 2026.
- NASA Space Apps Challenge (2026) Monterrey. Accessed September 10, 2026.
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, La importancia ambiental del Río Santa Catarina. Accessed September 10, 2026.
You may also be interested in:
Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.
Great Balls of Fire
4 min read
An astronaut on the International Space Station was surprised to photograph a shower of light streaking through the darkness while…
Article
The World Cup From 250 Miles Up
4 min read
Over the years, astronauts aboard the International Space Station have photographed several of the cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World…
Article
The Birthplace of the United States
3 min read
It was here the founders shaped the future of American government.
Article
Source: science.nasa.gov