Category Archives: oa.usa.nasa

TOPS Community Forum | March 9, Time 1PM ET*

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“NASA’s Transform to Open Science (TOPS) mission is being designed to support the adoption of open science and broaden participation in science. TOPS efforts are built on relationships with a variety of diverse communities. Join us March 09, 2023 for a joint community forum between the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) SEA Change, Creative Commons, and TOPS, Open Science: Challenges and Opportunities for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In the forum we will introduce the three organizations and then openly discuss what is open science in higher education institutions, how can learning to practice open science encourage equity across the entire STEMM enterprise, and how do we ensure that voices from traditional underrepresented geographical regions are not only included but prioritized?

Our goal in the forum and throughout the Year of Open Science, and beyond is to hold space for the scientific community to come together for intentional discussions around broadening participation and developing an equal level playing field to prioritize NASA’s Open Source Science Initiative priorities…”

NASA’s Thirst for Open Source Software — and for Open Science – The New Stack

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“Software has been a crucial component to all of NASA’s major achievements, from space travel to the deepest images of our universe. Naturally, NASA’s need for high-quality scientific software has led it to open source developers, and now to an ambitious new program based on the larger principles of “open science.”

Bringing NASA’s open source message to the annual FOSDEM conference was Steve Crawford, a space-loving astronomer who is now also the data officer of NASA’s science directorate, the group engaging the scientific community to define questions and expand research….

But there’s also an outreach to the world beyond NASA — including a new $40 million, five-year program called Transform to Open Science. The idea of open science involves free availability of research information to encourage outside contributions, and NASA is actively trying to lead us there….

The official TOPS webpage calls it NASA’s “global community initiative to spark change and inspire open science engagement through events and activities that will shift the current paradigm.” Throughout 2023, NASA TOPS will be partnering with 12 scientific professional societies in the scientific community “to advance the adoption of open science, roll out an open science curriculum, and support minority-serving institutions engagement with NASA through prizes, challenges, and hackathons.”…”

Guide to a Year of Open Science — NASA’s Transform to Open Science Mission

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“A Guide for Participating in a Year of Open Science!

On 11 January 2023 the US White House — joined by 10 federal agencies, a coalition of more than 85 universities, and other organizations — declared 2023 to be a Year of Open Science!

White House factsheet

NASA announces a Year of Open Science in Nature

Federal website

This year will celebrate the benefits and successes of open science and inspire more scientists to adopt open science. Ultimately, the success of a Year of Open Science will be driven by collaborations with individuals, teams, and organizations who are ready to transform the culture of science into one that celebrates openness, and inclusion!

The Year of Open Science has set out 4 goals to work towards:

Develop a strategic plan for open science

Improve the transparency, integrity, and equity of reviews

Account for open science activities in evaluations

Engage underrepresented communities in the advancement of open science…”

Guide to a Year of Open Science — NASA’s Transform to Open Science Mission

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“A Guide for Participating in a Year of Open Science!

On 11 January 2023 the US White House — joined by 10 federal agencies, a coalition of more than 85 universities, and other organizations — declared 2023 to be a Year of Open Science!

White House factsheet

NASA announces a Year of Open Science in Nature

Federal website

This year will celebrate the benefits and successes of open science and inspire more scientists to adopt open science. Ultimately, the success of a Year of Open Science will be driven by collaborations with individuals, teams, and organizations who are ready to transform the culture of science into one that celebrates openness, and inclusion!

The Year of Open Science has set out 4 goals to work towards:

Develop a strategic plan for open science

Improve the transparency, integrity, and equity of reviews

Account for open science activities in evaluations

Engage underrepresented communities in the advancement of open science…”

Knowledge Commons in Science and Society | March 4, 2023 | Transform to Open Science, NASA Transform to Open Science (TOPS), Washington, DC

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“Speaker Ryan McGranaghan, Orion Space Solutions, Louisville, CO. Summary: A knowledge commons is a combination of intelligent information representation and the openness, governance, and trust required to create a participatory ecosystem whereby the whole community maintains and evolves this shared information space. This talk introduces the topic of a knowledge commons as a a foundation for open, inclusive, plural science and welcome discussion around how the commons can help create a more flourishing community….”

How the James Webb Space Telescope broke the universe | MIT Technology Review

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“Every day, JWST can collect more than 50 gigabytes of data, compared with just one or two gigabytes for Hubble. The data, which contains images and spectroscopic signatures (essentially light broken apart into its elements), is fed through an algorithm run by STScI. Known as a “pipeline,” it turns the telescope’s raw images and numbers into useful information. Some of this is released immediately on public servers, where it is picked up by eager scientists or even by Twitter bots such as the JWST Photo Bot. Other data is handed to scientists on programs that have proprietary windows, enabling them to take time analyzing their own data before it is released to the masses….”

Why NASA and federal agencies are declaring this the Year of Open Science

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“I’m thrilled to be the Transform to Open Science lead for NASA, which has a 60-year legacy of pushing the limits of how science is used to understand the Universe, planetary systems and life on Earth. Much of NASA’s success can be attributed to a culture of openness for the public good. Since the 1990s, the agency has been a leading advocate for full and open access to data and algorithms.

That culture is needed now more than ever. Humanity is facing many intersecting challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and food and water insecurity. To combat them, we must find breakthroughs faster, increase interdisciplinary expertise and improve how we translate research findings into action. This will require a fundamental shift: from simply sharing results in journal articles to collaborating openly, publishing reproducible results and implementing full inclusivity and transparency….

In May 2021, I sent a one-page call to action for a Year of Open Science to NASA’s chief science data officer, and received immediate support. NASA headquarters formed a team to develop the concept. We talked to as many people as possible to learn their motivations, concerns and future needs related to open science. After a year of such discussions, we had a path forward. In April 2022, I started an assignment at NASA to lead the 5-year, US$40-million-dollar Transform to Open Science mission, which will be kicked off with the year of open science….

First, we agreed on a definition: open science is the principle and practice of making research products and processes available to all, while respecting diverse cultures, maintaining security and privacy, and fostering collaborations, reproducibility and equity. Next, we set four goals for each agency involved in the Year of Open Science: to develop a strategic plan for open science; improve the transparency and equity of reviews; account for open-science activities in evaluations; and engage under-represented communities in the advancement of open science….”

NASA Seeks Feedback on Open-Source Sharing of Scientific Data – ExecutiveBiz

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“NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is asking public and private sector entities for ideas on how to better manage data and computing infrastructure.

In a notice posted Thursday on SAM.gov, the directorate said that input from the request for information will support a larger goal to align the agency’s computing systems to Open-source Science policies.

The space agency established the Open-Source Science Initiative to promote early-stage sharing of software, data, documents and other relevant scientific knowledge in the spirit of transparency, inclusivity, accessibility and reproducibility.

To this end, SMD is seeking technologies and opportunities that can support open-science information and computing functions.

The RFI is aimed at U.S. and non-U.S. organizations from the industry, academe, government and science community. Individual researchers are also welcome to submit responses, which are due on Feb. 21….”

Rescuing NASA’s Historical Airborne and Field Data for Open Access and Reuse – NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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“Data rescue: the act of finding and transferring data from a non-public place to a publicly accessible and supported repository. May require data transformation from analog to digital format(s).

Data recovery: the process of restoring data that hasbeen lost, accidentally deleted, corrupted or madeinaccessible….”

NASA Releases Updated Scientific Information Policy for Science Mission Directorate

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“On December 8, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released an important update to its comprehensive Scientific Information Policy (SPD-41a), which represents a significant percentage of NASA’s research expenditures. While this policy does not serve as NASA’s official response to the OSTP Nelson Memorandum, it is a good indication of what we are likely to ultimately see in NASA’s agency-wide public access plan, which is due out in February 2023….

Requires that peer-reviewed publications be made openly available with no embargo period via deposit in an agency-approved repository….

Requires that research data be shared at the time of publication or the end of the funding award….

Requires mission software to be developed and shared openly….

Requires that the proceedings of SMD-sponsored meetings and workshops be held openly to enable broad participation….”

NASA Releases Updated Scientific Information Policy for Science Mission Directorate

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“On December 8, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released an important update to its comprehensive Scientific Information Policy (SPD-41a), which represents a significant percentage of NASA’s research expenditures. While this policy does not serve as NASA’s official response to the OSTP Nelson Memorandum, it is a good indication of what we are likely to ultimately see in NASA’s agency-wide public access plan, which is due out in February 2023….

Requires that peer-reviewed publications be made openly available with no embargo period via deposit in an agency-approved repository….

Requires that research data be shared at the time of publication or the end of the funding award….

Requires mission software to be developed and shared openly….

Requires that the proceedings of SMD-sponsored meetings and workshops be held openly to enable broad participation….”

Open-Source Science Initiative | Science Mission Directorate

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“NASA is making a long-term commitment to building an inclusive open science community over the next decade. Open-source science is a commitment to the open sharing of software, data, and knowledge (algorithms, papers, documents, ancillary information) as early as possible in the scientific process. The principles of open-source science are to make publicly funded scientific research transparent, inclusive, accessible, and reproducible. Advances in technology, including collaborative tools and cloud computing, help enable open-source science, but technology alone is insufficient. Open-source science requires a culture shift to a more inclusive, transparent, and collaborative scientific process, which will increase the pace and quality of scientific progress.

To help build a culture of open science, NASA is championing a new initiative: the Open-Source Science Initiative (OSSI). OSSI is a comprehensive program of activities to enable and support moving science towards openness, including policy adjustments, supporting open-source software, and enabling cyberinfrastructure. OSSI aims to implement NASA’s Strategy for Data Management and Computing for Groundbreaking Science 2019-2024, which was developed through community input….”

Science Information Policy | Science Mission Directorate

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“SMD has released SPD-41a: Scientific Information Policy for the Science Mission Directorate to provide guidance on the open sharing of publications, data, and software created in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. The core values behind the development of the policy are to make SMD-funded research as open as possible, as restricted as required, and always secure.  …

In November 2021, NASA issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit information from SMD communities on proposed updates to SPD-41. SMD has released a summary of the comments and responses from this RFI, which helped to inform the directorate on how to update its minimum requirements for openness and accessibility, as well as how to successfully implement the policy. 

SPD-41a is a forward-looking policy that will apply to new missions and grants starting with ROSES-2023. Existing missions and grants are not required to adopt the new guidance, but they are encouraged to do so if feasible with available resources. For new missions and grants starting with ROSES-2023, SPD-41a requires that: 

 

Peer-reviewed publications are made openly available with no embargo period.  
Research data and software are shared at the time of publication or the end of the funding award. 
Mission data are released as soon as possible and unrestricted mission software is developed openly.  
Science workshops and meetings are held openly to enable broad participation. …”

NASA’s Plan to Make JWST Data Immediately Available Will Hurt Astronomy – Scientific American

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“In August the White House announced that the results of all federally funded research should be freely accessible by the end of 2025. This will be a big change for scientists in many fields but ultimately a good move for the democratization of research.

Under this new guidance, many peer-reviewed papers would be free for the world to read immediately upon publication rather than stuck behind expensive paywalls, and the data that underlay these papers would be fully available and properly archived for anyone who wanted to analyze them. As an astronomer, I’m pleased that our profession has been ahead of the curve on this, and most of the White House’s recommendations are already standard in our field.

NASA, as a federal agency that funds and conducts research, is onboard with the idea of freely accessible data. But it has a plan that goes much further than the White House’s and that is highly problematic. The agency currently gives a proprietary period to some scientists who use particular facilities, such as a 12-month period for the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), so that those scientists can gather and analyze data carefully without fear of their work being poached. NASA is looking to end this policy in its effort to make science more open-access.

Losing this exclusivity would be really bad for astronomy and planetary science. Without a proprietary period, an astronomer with a brilliant insight might spend years developing it, months crafting a successful proposal to execute it, and precious hours of highly competitive JWST time to actually perform the observations—only to have someone else scoop up the data from a public archive and publish the result. This is a reasonable concern—such scooping has happened before….”