Open Data
The open data movement at NASA is multifaceted, including further release of data sets, publishing data sets to data.gov, and developing strategies to process large data sets. NASA will continue to develop its single portal for NASA data (data.nasa.gov) and leverage data.gov to enable users to locate relevant high quality data and easy to use tools and applications. The Agency will also continue to encourage users to utilize raw datasets to perform analysis, experiments, and learning as well as to leverage the efforts of external developer communities who create applications relevant to NASA’s mission.
data.nasa.gov
NASA’s commitment to open data expands the audience for the vast body of knowledge captured in nearly 100 years of U.S. aeronautics and space data. Developers, technologists, entrepreneurs, citizen scientists and many others can contribute directly to the exploration of space and Earth by helping to create new ways of looking at this data. Additionally, the release of administrative and procedural information from within NASA enables researchers and analysts to understand more about the inner workings of NASA as well as allow our own employees to better understand other functions of our Agency.
As part of the Open Government Initiative, the Agency is working to improve accessibility to this data and incentivizing the use of government data by citizens. To address the ever-increasing amount of tools and data catalogs that are publicly available on NASA’s many websites, this directory lists publicly available datasets and serves to streamline the process for posting these datasets on data.gov. The directory includes information and direct links to more the 1000 datasets, and this is just a small beginning.
Initiative goal:
Continue to build the internal directory with an additional 500 datasets, including every NASA center and representing as much of NASA’s internal work as possible, with an increased percentage of data graduated up to data.gov. (2 years)
NASA’s data.gov Working Group
Data.gov was created in 2009 as a step toward implementing a more open and accountable government. Each Agency participates by providing support and recommendations to the architecture of the site as well as populating data.gov with its data. For NASA, as a mission-driven Agency, data is at the heart of what we do, and the Working Group functions as a liaison between data.gov and NASA’s data curators as well as participating in the evolution of the platform. The Working Group embraces the opportunity to reach out to new stakeholders via data.gov, including application developers, social scientists, researchers, citizen scientists, and data enthusiasts. We believe that the data.gov platform will facilitate even greater usage of our existing Web services which will provide incentive for us to find additional information to make available for download.
Initiative goal:
Release an additional ten new high-value datasets or information holdings to data.gov that have never been released to the public before. Upon release of each dataset or information holding, we will issue a rationale for why it is high-value. (1 year)
Big Data at NASA
Exploring innovative approaches to extremely large datasets is of vital interest to NASA. In line with its extensive amounts of science data, and commitment to making large datasets accessible to the public, the Agency continues to encourage users (internally and externally) to utilize raw datasets in new ways to perform analysis, experiments, and learning. NASA also partners widely across government agencies to support sharing of best practices and cross-agency planning.
The variety of NASA’s current Big Data activities and approaches include:
- Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is committed to Big Data research and development that is focused on specific NASA science needs and missions. SMD is currently soliciting for new awards in 8 Big Data areas in its Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) – 2012 and partners with DOE, NOAA, USGS, USAF, EPA, NIST, DOD, and NSF on a variety of Big Data activities.
- NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) has a number of innovative approaches to advancing Big Data, including the Lunar Mapping and Modeling Activity and the NASA Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation.
- NASA’s Aeronautic Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) open data activities includes the DASHlink virtual laboratory, a tool for scientists and engineers to disseminate information on the latest data mining and systems health algorithms, data, and research, and collaborate on research problems for aeronautics systems. DASHlink connects researchers working in similar areas by making public data sets, open-sourced algorithms, and non-proprietary research results more accessible. Participants can upload technical projects to disseminate, collaborate, and innovate more easily both within NASA and beyond.
- NASA’s Technology Program includes large-scale data management and analysis in its NASA Technology Area 11 (Modeling, Simulation, and Information Technology & Processing) and specifically identifies Intelligent Data Understanding as a technology need area. Though no solicitations are planned for 2012 in this area, the Office of Chief Technologist does have annual solicitations in its Game Changing Technologies, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) and SBIR/STTR programs, where proposals addressing Big Data would be welcome.
Initiative goal:
NASA will create opportunities for enhanced coordination across NASA’s Big Data activities, and expanded cooperation with other agencies. (1 year)
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