What changes now for visitors and residents?
Anyone travelling to or living on La Palma will notice nothing from the NASA report. Our research found no rule, deadline, closure or application procedure linked to it.
The report sets research priorities for the next decade and is not a funding decision. So far it names no sums for La Palma.
The eruption on the Cumbre Vieja ended on 13 December 2021, and the report looks back on it. The documents contain no warning or hazard notice.
By 15 September 2026 the Cabildo de La Palma (island government) had approved return to 1,182 homes in Puerto Naos and 65 in La Bombilla. Return still depends on CO₂ safety protocols, so if you book there, ask the landlord or the Cabildo first.
What does the NASA report say about La Palma?
A regional news outlet reported on 5 November 2026 on a NASA report that cites the September 2021 Tajogaite eruption as an example. Our research could not open the original document, so the details come from that coverage.
The Spanish-language title of the report is “CORE 2.0: Retos y oportunidades para la investigación en Superficie e Interior de la Tierra”, and it belongs to NASA’s “Earth Surface and Interior” focus area. We could not check the original English title, and it is also unclear whether NASA itself or an outside body wrote the document.
In the report, La Palma stands for the scientific and social challenges of active geological processes. It lists destroyed homes and infrastructure, disruption to air traffic, farm damage and economic losses, each without figures.
The report poses five big scientific questions, which the coverage does not list one by one. Its priorities are combining satellite observation with ground measurements, combining physical models with AI tools, and assessing and reducing natural hazards.
What does researcher Társilo Girona say?
Társilo Girona, a researcher at Geociencias Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), calls the eruption proof of progress. He says: “The 2021 eruption showed how far volcano monitoring has come.”
Girona also thinks the priorities matter for Spain: “These priorities are just as relevant for Spain.” He appears to be one of the Spanish contributors.
A news release from his institute on the NASA roadmap exists, but our research did not check its content. The report also names Isabel Santos Gómez, director of the Museo Insular de La Palma, though her role in the story is unclear.
Itahiza Domínguez, head of the IGN in the Canary Islands, spoke in September 2024 of a turning point for volcanology. The data collected is meant to improve monitoring, automation and forecasts.
As early as 2021, Cornell researchers Esteban Gazel and Kyle Dayton took air samples for a NASA-supported project on the global effects of eruptions. According to an October 2025 statement, Spain’s space institute INTA studied the volcano as a model for Mars and the Moon, mapping lava tubes as possible shelters for astronauts.
How did the eruption unfold?
The eruption on the Cumbre Vieja, in the municipality of El Paso, lasted exactly 85 days and 8 hours. It began on 19 September and ended on 13 December 2021.
The lava covered about 1,200 hectares and flowed up to 6.5 kilometres. The volcanic cone reached 1,121 metres and the ash column 8,500 metres.
The IGN counted 8,652 earthquakes during the eruption and about 1,400 before it. The strongest reached magnitude 5.1.
About 7,000 people had to leave their homes, and there were no direct deaths. The lava destroyed 2,988 buildings and buried 74 kilometres of roads.
Just over 400 farms were affected. Near Tazacorte the lava formed two lava deltas (fajanas) and created about 48 hectares of new land.
The Canary Islands volcanic risk emergency plan (PEVOLCA) steered the emergency response. The IGN published daily reports.
Who pays for the damage, and how far has rebuilding come?
The Canary Islands government put the damage at 982 million euros in September 2022. A later review gives 842 million euros as the updated figure, and the two values do not match.
The state has transferred 1.1 billion euros since 2021, according to the agreement between Spain and the Canary Islands. Of that, 365 million euros is housing aid already paid.
The agreement also provides 100 million euros in direct compensation and a 60% exemption from income tax (IRPF) for residents of La Palma. It is to be implemented by royal decree-law after the cabinet decision, and the source dates the agreement partly to October, partly to November 2025.
The Canary Islands government says it has paid compensation for 800 main residences, and 1,415 people benefited. The housing programme totals 78.5 million euros.
The government has bought 74 protected homes and 34 are under construction. A further 53 homes are going up in Los Llanos.
About 40 families still live in container housing. The Alerta CO₂ project runs about 1,600 sensors, and the return to Puerto Naos relies on them.
What is still open, and what comes next?
No follow-up programme or NASA funding for La Palma is known. Nobody has so far named a date for next steps.
The Cabildo, the state coastal directorate, the Canary Islands coastal authority and the marine platform PLOCAN decide on the new land at the lava deltas. The Cabildo president wants to regulate access to the new beaches, and farmers’ water channels are to be kept.
PLOCAN reports that water readings at the lava deltas are back to normal and that marine life is settling faster than expected. Specific uses remain open and need technical and official approval, and a “Blue Innovation Center” for marine research is planned.
In March 2026 the Canary Islands government opened a public consultation on extending the protected areas around the volcano and lava deltas. The documents give no result.