How do I become a NASA-funded researcher?

Who classifies as a NASA-funded researcher?

Who classifies as a U.S. Government-funded researcher?

What commercial data are available for download?

How do I get approved to access the commercial data?

Are there any restrictions on using screenshots, including imagery, from the Satellite Data Explorer?

Do I need permission to publish my work outside of NASA?

What copyright notice should I use for commercial data?

How do I acknowledge CSDA in publications?

What are the terms and conditions for using CSDA data (EULAs)?

How do I know if specific areas of interest to my study are already available for download through NASA?

What is NASA's plan for long-term preservation of the commercial data?

How do I become a NASA-funded researcher?

To submit proposals for NASA support, individuals must register in the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES). Organizations must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) before registering in NSPIRES. Registration alone does not confer data access; CSDA data access requires authorization under the applicable End User License Agreement (EULA).

Who classifies as a NASA-funded researcher?

NASA-funded researchers include:
● NASA civil servants
● Individuals supported through NASA grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other NASAfunded mechanisms at universities, nonprofits, or other institutions.

Who classifies as a U.S. Government-funded researcher?

U.S. Government-funded researchers are those whose work is supported through U.S. Federal, State, Local, Territorial, or Tribal government funding. This can include researchers at universities, nonprofit organizations, and NGOs when their research is funded by the U.S. Government. Eligibility to access specific CSDA datasets depends on the license tier and may vary by vendor and product.

What commercial data are available for download?

CSDA provides access, subject to applicable license terms, to a wide range of commercial measurements and imagery, including multispectral and hyperspectral optical data, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), greenhouse gas and other emissions products, precipitation radar, microwave sounding observations, GNSSR and GNSSRO data, and digital elevation models. Data availability varies by vendor, product type, and license tier; consult the individual vendor pages listed below for current offerings and conditions.

Airbus
BlackSky
Capella
GeoOptics
GHGSat
ICEYE
MDA Space
Pixxel
Planet
PlanetiQ
Polar Geospatial Center
Satellogic
Spire
Teledyne Brown Engineering
Tomorrow.io
Umbra
Vantor

How do I get approved to access the commercial data?

All access to CSDA commercial data acquisitions is authorization‑based and governed by the applicable license tier. However, if a dataset has been designated as publicly available under a Public license tier, it may be accessed openly but for now will still require a CSDA Authorization Form. For all other data, the following authorization process applies:

● Complete the CSDA Authorization Form to request access under the appropriate license tier.
● The CSDA Team verifies eligibility (e.g., funding source, project purpose) against the terms of the relevant End User License Agreement (EULA).
● Once verified, CSDA provides instructions for requesting and accessing data, including tasking workflows where applicable.
● Access to specific vendor products depends on the applicable license terms. All authorization‑required data requests are reviewed and approved by CSDA Data Managers.

Are there any restrictions on using screenshots, including that of imagery, from the Satellite Data Explorer (SDX)?

NASA supports an open data policy; when using screenshots of the Satellite Data Explorer please cite it as "NASA CSDA Program Satellite Data Explorer”. For acknowledgment in scientific journals, please use:

"We acknowledge the use of imagery from the Satellite Data Explorer application (https://csdap.earthdata.nasa.gov), part of the NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program."

Note: CSDA provides scientific use under specific licenses; SDX screenshots do not convert commercial data into open public data.

Do I need permission to publish my work outside of NASA?

Authorized users of the data should send a courtesy copy of the publication(s) to the CSDA program.

Please see vendor specific pages for guidance on using screenshots and figures in publications.

Screenshots from SDX should follow proper acknowledgment guidance.

Always consult with the program if you have questions before publication.

What copyright notice should I use for commercial data?

Please see the Copyright/Credit language provided on the individual vendor pages:
Airbus
BlackSky
Capella
GeoOptics
GHGSat
ICEYE
MDA Space
Pixxel
Planet
PlanetiQ
Polar Geospatial Center
Satellogic
Spire
Teledyne Brown Engineering
Tomorrow.io
Umbra
Vantor

How do I acknowledge CSDA in publications?

To help CSDA identify publications using CSDA-distributed data, please include the following acknowledgment in publications:

"This work used data made available through the NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program."

What are the terms and conditions for using CSDA data (EULAs)?

CSDA distributes commercial data under tiered End User License Agreements (EULAs). The minimum access tier for most products is USG; some products may be available under USG Plus or Public.

● USG: U.S. Government employees; State/Local/Tribal personnel; U.S. Government contractors/subcontractors; and U.S. Government-funded researchers/academic partners.
● USG Plus: Adds limited rights above USG (varies by vendor/product).
● Public: Least restrictive tier for specific products when allowed (rare; not the default).

All data use must comply with the applicable EULA. Every request is reviewed and approved by CSDA prior to access. For details, see the CSDA End User License Agreement page.

For more information about EULAs, see the End User License Agreement webpage.

How do I check whether my area/time of interest is already available?

Use the Satellite Data Explorer (SDX) to search CSDA holdings and verify if imagery for your area of interest and date range is already available. CSDA regularly mirrors acquired data into NASA infrastructure; coverage and latency vary by vendor and collection schedule.

If you do not see data for your research area in the Satellite Data Explorer, please submit a request through the Data Acquisition Request System (DARS). The CSDA program will review your request and may be able to acquire or provide data covering your area of interest.

What is NASA's plan for long-term preservation of the commercial data?

All CSDA purchased data are mirrored to NASA infrastructure for long-term preservation and scientific reproducibility. CSDA also extracts metadata to enable robust search and discovery. Preservation does not change public release rights; data remain subject to their license tier.

More Information:

● ROSES FAQs and Data Management Plan FAQs: guidance for proposal and data management requirements.
● CSDA Authorization & SDX: details on authorization and data discovery.
● Questions? Email CSDA; or ask a question on  NASA’s Earthdata Forum—where the scientific user community and subject matter experts can discuss research needs, data, and data applications directly; see CSDA Earthdata Forum questions and posts.