Ancient ruins are under threat. Here's how archaeologists are getting help from space.

Space archaeology needs to mix new and old missions to protect ancient sites, scientists urged at a recent NASA conference.

Take the example of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. The facility is best known for helping to chart unknown worlds, leading the missions of rovers on Mars and sailing the Voyager spacecraft by all the major outer planets. "But we also look at the Earth, because the Earth is a planet, too," said Ronald Blom, retired principal scientist of JPL, at the NASA and Archaeology From Space symposium on Sept. 18, to which Space.com received an exclusive invite.

Studying our planet from space means integrating modern with historic missions. Blom praised the forthcoming Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission — a joint effort of NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation — as one effort archaeologists are looking forward to when it launches in 2025. Radar can chart changes to coastlines and other aspects of Earth's surface, providing context for archaeology sites on a wider scale.

Source: www.space.com

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