Developing an Open Source Strategy for NASA Earth Science Data Systems

We have found open source to be an effective platform for software reuse. Within the NASA Earth science data systems community, there are a number of distinct applications, ranging from interactions amongst science investigator led processing systems (SIPS), which focus on active data processing, algorithm experimentation and evaluation, and the reuse of instrument processing approaches; to NASA's Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) that are responsible for outward facing data dissemination to the public, and where long term preservation of data and reuse are distinctly important; all the way to downstream proposal led systems, where investigators are funded by NASA to reuse data and software to produce fused data products, and to aggregate and reuse NASA data systems in a systems-of-systems manner. Recognizing the need for a coordinated effort to inform the reuse of components within the NASA ecosystem, we are developing a strategic approach for the development and reuse of open source software. The NASA open source strategy builds on a set of dimensions involving legal, architectural, community, and redistribution areas that are of prime importance to the agency as a whole.