Improving Access to Past and Present NASA Airborne Research Data and Information

NASA has a robust track record of conducting airborne science research with US as well as international partner agencies. Ongoing and future airborne projects of both large and small scales continue to utilize NASA’s wealth of airborne science platforms and instrumentation to study geophysical features and physical relationships as well as supporting satellite validation efforts. While these efforts are a testament to the quality of airborne observation and research across several agencies, challenges posed by the nature of airborne missions set these data, their documentation, management, ease of discoverability and access, and data use apart from satellite or ground-based observations. Within NASA’s Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT), the Airborne Data Management Group (ADMG) has been formed to provide support to airborne investigations and connect the airborne science community, NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), and airborne data users. ADMG is working to develop relevant solutions to airborne data challenges.

ADMG’s primary objectives are facilitating streamlined data discovery and access, supporting the development of best practices for airborne data stewardship, and serving as a knowledge resource for stakeholders (including scientists, DAACs, and managers) regarding all NASA Earth science airborne campaigns. This presentation will discuss initial ADMG activities and give an overview of our long-term goals for linking the various components of the broad airborne science community. Specifically, we will introduce the building and design of an extensive, query-able airborne data inventory with a public web portal for locating and obtaining past airborne research data. ADMG is also currently supporting NASA’s Earth Venture Suborbital-3 (EVS-3) projects, and assists researchers in developing data management plans.