NASA’s missions have always been synonymous with venturing into the uncharted territories of space, collecting invaluable data that stretches the limits of human knowledge. However, the narrative doesn’t culminate with the conclusion of these missions. The meticulously preserved data in NASA’s archives often takes on new significance years, or even decades, later, facilitating discoveries that continue to benefit science, technology, and society at large.
Kevin Murphy, NASA’s Chief Science Data Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, emphasizes the enduring importance of this data. He states, “NASA’s science data is one of our most valuable legacies. It carries the stories of our missions, the insights of our discoveries, and the potential for future breakthroughs.” This sentiment underscores the ongoing relevance of NASA’s archived data as a cornerstone for future innovation and exploration.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is responsible for managing an extensive array of data that spans various scientific fields, including astrophysics, biological and physical sciences, Earth science, heliophysics, and planetary science. Currently, NASA’s science data holdings exceed 100 petabytes, which is equivalent to storing 20 billion photos from the average modern smartphone. This massive volume of data is expected to increase significantly as new missions are launched.
This extensive repository of data is a catalyst for new scientific discoveries, enabling connections between scientific observations in meaningful ways. More than half of all scientific publications rely on archived data, which NASA makes accessible to millions of commercial, government, and scientific users worldwide.
Handling and safeguarding such an enormous volume of information necessitates meticulous planning, robust infrastructure, and innovative strategies to ensure the data remains accessible, secure, and sustainable. Ongoing support for data storage and cutting-edge technology is crucial to guarantee that future generations of researchers can continue to explore using NASA’s science data.
Modern technology, including image processing and artificial intelligence (AI), plays a pivotal role in extracting new insights from past observations. A notable example is NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, which conducted a groundbreaking flyby of Uranus in 1986, capturing extensive data on the planet and its environs. Decades later, in the early 2000s, scientists employed advanced image processing techniques on this archival data to discover two small moons, Perdita and Cupid, which had initially gone unnoticed.
In 2024, researchers revisited this 38-year-old archival data and identified a pivotal solar wind event that compressed Uranus’s magnetosphere just before the Voyager 2 flyby. This rare occurrence, happening just about four percent of the time, offered unique insights into Uranus’s magnetic field and its interaction with space weather.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched in 2009, continues to yield data that reshapes our understanding of the Moon. In 2018, scientists analyzing the LRO’s archival data confirmed the presence of water ice in permanently shadowed regions at the Moon’s poles. In 2024, new studies from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, revealed widespread evidence of water ice within the permanently shadowed regions outside the lunar South Pole, further aiding lunar mission planners. This discovery not only impacts lunar exploration but also exemplifies how existing data can yield groundbreaking insights.
NASA’s data archives are also pivotal in uncovering secrets on Earth. In 2024, archaeologists published a study revealing a “lost” Mayan city in Campeche, Mexico, previously unknown to the scientific community. The researchers identified the city using archival airborne Earth science data, including a 2013 dataset from NASA Goddard’s LiDAR Hyperspectral & Thermal Imager (G-LiHT) mission.
The Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) project provides frequent high-resolution observations of Earth’s surface. Data from HLS has been instrumental in monitoring urban growth over time. By analyzing changes in land cover, researchers have used HLS to track the expansion of cities and infrastructure development. For instance, in rapidly growing metropolitan areas, HLS data has revealed patterns of urban sprawl, assisting planners in analyzing past trends to predict future metropolitan expansion.
These discoveries represent only a fraction of what is possible. NASA is investing in new technologies to harness the full potential of its data archives, including AI foundation models—open-source AI tools designed to extract new findings from existing science data. “Our vision is to develop at least one AI model for each NASA scientific discipline, turning decades of legacy data into a treasure trove of discovery,” says Murphy. “By embedding NASA expertise into these tools, we ensure that our scientific data continues to drive innovation across science, industry, and society for generations to come.”
Developed through a collaboration between NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer, IBM, and various universities, these AI models are scientifically validated and adaptable to new datasets, making them invaluable for researchers and industries alike. Murphy likens it to having a virtual assistant that leverages decades of NASA’s knowledge to make smarter, quicker decisions.
The team’s Earth science foundation models—the Prithvi Geospatial model and Prithvi Weather model—analyze vast datasets to monitor Earth’s changing landscape, track weather patterns, and support critical decision-making processes. Building on this success, the team is now developing a foundation model for heliophysics. This model will unlock new insights into the dynamics of solar activity and space weather, which can affect satellite operations, communication systems, and even power grids on Earth. Additionally, a model designed for the Moon is in progress, aiming to enhance our understanding of lunar resources and environments.
This investment in AI not only shortens the “data-to-discovery” timeline but also ensures that NASA’s data archives continue to drive innovation. From uncovering new planets to informing future exploration and supporting industries on Earth, the possibilities are boundless. By maintaining extensive archives and embracing cutting-edge technologies, NASA ensures that the data collected today will continue to inspire and inform discoveries far into the future. In doing so, NASA’s legacy science data truly remains the gift that keeps on giving.
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