Planet Skysat image shows clouds of steam rising from the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcano as heat vaporizes a small crater lake on Janaury 7, 2021. NASA researchers are using this data to monitor activity on volcanic islands. Credit: Planet

SAN FRANCISCO —  NASA intends to continue buying data gathered by commercial Earth-observation satellites.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...