Alaska is home to the Poker Flat Research Range, where NASA researchers launch sounding rockets. A sounding rocket is a rocket that launches into Earth's atmosphere, collects information and comes back down to Earth—all in about 30 minutes.

Alaska is one of the best places in the US to see the aurora borealis, or "northern lights." Aurora happen when particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field and the gases in our atmosphere.

NASA researchers study the environment in Alaska to understand the impacts of Earth's changing climate. Information from the ground and from NASA satellites are used to understand changes, such as the thawing of permanently frozen ground.