The mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to lead innovative and sustainable exploration to enable human expansion across the solar system and to develop a better understanding of our own Earth using unique global observations from space, air, sea, and land. This work includes advancing the detection of marine debris using remote sensing and understanding their corresponding impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the ocean’s biological and ecological processes. NASA Earth observations and science in the coastal marine environment increases situational awareness and understanding that guides actions to reduce risks including interference to navigational safety, to help mitigate causes of economic loss to fishing and maritime industries, to strengthen resilience due to degradation in the quality of life that may occur in coastal communities, and to support the surveillance needed to avoid threats to human health and safety. The Research and Analysis Program (R&A) within the NASA Earth Science Division (ESD) works to advance our scientific understanding of Earth as a system and its response to natural and human-induced changes and to improve our ability to predict climate, weather, and natural hazards. The Applied Sciences program, also within ESD, seeks to utilize the agency’s unique observations to enable informed decision-making for agriculture, water and food security, urban planning, disaster preparedness and response, transportation, climate and weather, and other applications that benefit life on Earth. NASA is an active member of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordination Committee.