Drivers and Challenges for NASA

1
Drivers and Challenges for NASAs Earth Science
Data Holdings

• Kathy Fontaine
• Frank Lindsay
• Martha Maiden
• NASA
• PV2005
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• 22 November 2005

2
Introduction

• The Challenge
• External Drivers and their Impact
• Internal Drivers and their Impact
• Current and Future Efforts
• Conclusion

3
Challenge

• As a federal agency, NASA has competing
  influences from within (internal to NASA) and
  without (external agencies)
• These influences create a tension, and sometimes
  an outright conflict, between what can be done
  and what should be done.
• The challenge is balancing various internal and
  external drivers and influences against the work
  that needs to be done.

4
External Drivers

• Space Act of 1958
• Established the National Aeronautics and Space
  Administration, with an objective being the
  expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of
  phenomena in the atmosphere and space
• This objective is the basis for the Earth Science
  program at NASA (earth system science, climate
  change, etc).
• Studies all aspects of land and atmosphere using
  orbiting, aircraft-based, and in situ sensors
  (Landsat, EOS series, IceSAT, etc).
• Also builds and tests spacecraft for its own use
  and for other agencies.

5
External Drivers

• Office of Management and Budget
• Primarily monitors how other agencies spend their
  money.
• Established a policy (A-130) that agencies must
  only collect, retain or disseminate data that is
  clearly related to their mission.
• When data is collected, it must be protected and
  must not violate privacy laws.
• When data is disseminated, it must be done in a
  full and open manner.
• Established a policy on formats and standards for
  data (A-16).

6
External Drivers

• Other agencies
• United States Geological Survey (USGS) and
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  (NOAA) have somewhat overlapping missions with
  NASA
• USGS has mapped the United States and its
  territories since 1879, and can keep its
  receipts.
• Executive Order created the National Satellite
  Land Remote Sensing Data Archive at USGS to
  archive Landsat data
• But didnt Landsat start as a NASA mission?

7
External Drivers

• NOAA is a relatively more recent agency, combined
  from the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, the
  Weather Bureau, and the Bureau of Commercial
  Fisheries
• Housed within the Department of Commerce
• Collects information for real-time use (weather)
  and research use (climate)
• But doesnt NASA study climate change?

8
External Drivers

• Other legislation
• NOAA was given the responsibility of being the
  primary archive for Earth Observation System
  (EOS) data
• Isnt this another NASA program?
• And isnt the data in EOSDIS already?
• Other national programs
• There are several programs at the national level
  which bring to light the commonalities and
  confusions inherent in overlapping missions.
• USGCRP
• CCSP
• Ocean.US
• US GEO

9
Impacts

• NASAs science work overshadowed by human
  spaceflight issues (show of hands who thinks
  about science first when they hear the word
  NASA?)
• When agencies cooperate, budgets adjust
  accordingly, never in the correct direction.
• As more and more agencies use IT as a tool,
  global policies can become meaningless or
  restrictive.
• Reporting on progress can be difficult.
• Original distribution of agency missions was
  clear, but isnt any more.
• When agencies join forces in the national or
  international arena, this can be a challenge.

10
Internal Drivers
11
Earth Science in NASAs Mission

• Understand and Protect Our Home Planet by using
  our view from space to study the Earth system and
  improve prediction of Earth system change
• Help Explore the Universe and Search for Life by
  applying our scientific understanding of the
  Earth system to the identification and study of
  Earth-like planets around other stars
• Inspire the Next Generation of Earth Explorers by
  providing Earth system science content and
  training to educators, and by sponsoring the
  education and early careers of Earth scientists

12
Earth Science Focus Areas
13
Science Drivers
Variability
Forcing
Response
Consequence
Prediction
Precipitation, evaporation cycling of water
changing?
Atmospheric constituents solar radiation on
climate?
Clouds surface hydrological processes on
climate?
Weather variation related to climate variation?
Weather forecasting improvement?
Global ocean circulation varying?
Changes in land cover land use?
Consequences of land cover land use change?
Improve prediction of climate variability
change?
Ecosystems, land cover biogeochemical cycles?
Motions of the Earth Earths interior?
Changes in global ocean circulation?
Coastal region impacts?
Ozone, climate air quality impacts of
atmospheric composition?
Global ecosystems changing?
Atmospheric composition changing?
Atmospheric trace constituents responses?
Carbon cycle ecosystem change?
Regional air quality impacts?
Ice cover mass changing?
Sea level affected by Earth system change?
Change in water cycle dynamics?
Earth surface transformation?
Predict mitigate natural hazards from Earth
surface change?
Climate Variability and Change Atmospheric
Composition Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems
Weather Water and Energy Cycle Earth
Surface and Interior
14
Advisory and Other Committees

• NASA Advisory Committee
• Used to be comprised of an Earth System Science
  Advisory Committee and a Space Sciences Advisory
  Committee, with Subcommittees
• Currently being reconstituted by NASA, stay tuned
• National Academy of Sciences
• Conducts reviews on the state of research and
  makes recommendations on what science entities
  ought to do.
• Decadal surveys being conducted to help set
  internal research priorities.
• Earth Science community
• While not really an advisory committee, the
  research community plays a critical role in
  setting research priorities.

15
Impacts

• Mission and vision revised periodically, which
  flows through the organization
• Revisions necessitate review and soul-searching
  which can lead to changes in the program
• Consistency and continuity could be at risk
• All the science drivers lead to sensors, which
  leads to DATA.
• Collection, access, archive responsibilities
  skyrocket.
• EOSDIS lessons learned include one-size-fits-all
  doesnt fit any size
• External reviews inevitably produce diametrically
  opposed sets of recommendations.

16
Other Drivers

• EOSDIS has over 1500 data sets (over 4 petabytes
  of data), and counting has over 230,000 users in
  2005 alone
• EOS missions are winding down, hence the need for
  the large data system structure is reduced
• Although Terra mission was extended, and all
  other spacecraft are healthy
• Move towards smaller, focused measurement
  processing systems distributes services and
  archives
• Impact
• Must ensure that the plans and resources mesh
• Must ensure all elements are tracked and
  measured.

17
Current and Future Activities

• Strategic Evolution of Earth Science Enterprise
  Data Systems (SEEDS) Study http//seeds.gsfc.nasa
  .gov
• Found that smaller, distributed, heterogeneous
  systems will work if they make wise use of
• Standards and interfaces
• New technologies infused when ready
• Metrics and reporting tools
• Reusable and open source components
• Community participation
• Follow-on work includes four working groups
• Standards, Reuse, Technology Infusion, Metrics
  Planning and Reporting
• Data Life Cycle Working Group proposed and under
  discussion

18
Data Life Cycle Working Group

• Data Life Cycle Working Group Proposal
• Under consideration at NASA
• Primary goal is to provide an internal body to
• Advise the Earth science managers on topics
  relating to data life cycle, including, but not
  only, archive and preservation issues
• Oversee or conduct data product reviews
• Similar structures exist within other agencies
• Useful for projects such as the NOAA/NASA MODIS
  Pilot Project, Research to Operations, etc.

19
Other Activities

• Senior Reviews
• Process in use at NASA HQ by the space science
  group
• In effect, a forum for mission principal
  investigators or data system managers present
  their proposals for continuing the activity.
• EOS Terra approved contains MODIS, which is
  still working well
• Larger data systems will be put through this
  process over the next year or so

20
Other Activities

• Data Product Reviews
• Done by program managers at HQ but are also
  bottom-up
• Product scrub underway in support of this
  activity
• Metrics run performed at the data center
• Products with low demand are flagged and
  investigated
• Recommendations made to HQ
• Elements of EOSDIS Evolution
• Study done by NASA over the past 2 years.
• Presented to NASA and accepted.
• http//eosdis-evolution.gsfc.nasa.gov

21
Evolution of EOSDIS Elements

• Vision Statement
• NASAs research communities have access to all
  EOS data through services at least as rich as any
  contemporary science information system.
• The research and value-added provider communities
  use EOS data interoperably with any other
  relevant data sources (e.g., NPOESS, METOP, GPM,
  numerical models, in situ systems) and systems
  (e.g., Global Earth Observation System of
  Systems).
• The EOS archive holdings are regularly peer
  reviewed for scientific merit

22
Evolution of EOSDIS Elements

• Vision, contd
• Mechanisms to collect and preserve the pedigree
  of derived data products are readily available.
• Processing and data are mobile processing can be
  moved to data and/or data can be moved to
  processing.
• NASA data systems have evolved into components
  that allow fine-grained control over cost
  drivers.
• Expert knowledge is readily accessible to enable
  researchers to understand and use the data.
• Community feedback directly to those responsible
  for a given system element is readily available.

23
Closing

• There are many challenges, both internal and
  external.
• Those who are putting together tools and
  techniques be patient but remain aware of the
  policy roadblocks which might be in your path.
• Through, or maybe despite, all the challenges,
  the data is not getting lost in the shuffle
• Of all national assets, archives are the most
  precious they are the gift of one generation to
  another and the extent of our care of them marks
  the extent of our civilization.
• Sir Arthur G. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, Canada
• 1904 - 1935