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NASA has established a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the "purposes of research and collaboration on the discovery, access, and use of high-value NASA science datasets."

Under the auspices of this agreement, NASA researchers can request access for data storage and/or cloud compute resources on AWS as long as the request aligns with the SAA terms and NASA’s science mission.

Request of AWS Storage Allocation

NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) has been given an allocation of 2 PB within the AWS Open Data Program.

The request for storage should align with the goals of the SAA:

  • Investigate the value of showcasing high-value NASA science datasets on the cloud to support large scale data expeditions for analysis and visualizations
  • Research strategies to showcase science data in the cloud that enable quicker access by the scientific community

In addition, the requestor needs to make sure that:

  • Data should be considered "write once, read many"; that is, NASA datasets that require many edits or have a high turnover are not a fit for the sandbox
  • Data must be available via a native AWS interface, that is, direct access to S3
  • Data must be listed on the Registry of Open Data on AWS
  • Data should be considered "useful by itself"; that is, NASA datasets should be a large enough collection of data that is meaningful and valuable to the science community (e.g., small subsets of datasets used only for demonstration purposes are not a fit for the Open Data Sponsorship Program)
  • Data should not be stored for long-term operational use and is classified as science in nature (i.e., not engineering, etc.)

Process of Making a Cloud Storage Request

  • Interested parties should submit their requests for S3 storage using the Google Form link. The request should include the following:
    • Short description of project
    • Data volume estimate
    • Data format
    • Cloud provider (assuming AWS for this)
    • Target NASA ATO cloud platform
    • Period of support requested
  • Requests will be reviewed on the 1st of each month and responses provided by the 7th of each month
  • Once approved, the allocations coordinator will direct the requestor to a specific platform (based on best fit) for S3 bucket access
  • The platform point of contact will provide the requestor access to the S3 bucket
  • The requestor will be responsible for moving the data to the S3 bucket and adding the metadata as a YAML text file via a pull request on the AWS GitHub to update the AWS Open Data Registry. The data should have appropriate tags and documentation demonstrating the use of the data and link to the SAA collaboration site on AWS Open Data Registry. The requestor should review additional instructions in the AWS Onboarding Handbook

Request of AWS Compute Resource

The ESD has been given a limited allocation of cloud compute resources.

The request for compute should align with goals for the SAA:

  • Showcase high-value NASA science datasets on the cloud to enable data expeditions for analysis and visualizations
  • Showcase data strategies in the cloud to enable quicker access by the scientific community
  • Provide resources to support training or workshops

Process of Making a Cloud Compute Request

  • Interested requesters will submit their requests for cloud credits via a publicly available website. The request should include the following:
    • Description of the project (e.g., workshop details, etc.)
    • Cloud credit amount requested
    • Cloud provider (assuming AWS for this)
    • Target NASA ATO cloud platform
    • Period of support requested
  • Requests will be reviewed on the 1st of each month, following the processes outlined for the Open Source Science Initiative
  • Once approved, the allocation coordinator will direct the cloud credits management team to allocate the credit codes to the requestor
  • Once the activity is complete, the requester must submit a report summarizing the activities within 30 days