Open-Source Science Initiative

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.

open source initiative

Announcements

CERN/NASA Summit: “Accelerating the Adoption of Open Science”

In celebration of the 2023 Year of Open Science, CERN and NASA are jointly organizing “Accelerating the Adoption of Open Science”, a week long open science summit at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, from 10 to 14 July 2023. This event will bring together relevant stakeholders in the physical sciences and international policy makers (e.g. UNESCO, European Commission). Attendance to the workshops associated with this event will be limited to 80 people and will consist primarily of invited individuals. A limited number of slots will be available for conference registrants for in-person workshop participation. Registration for the event.

Join TOPS for a Space Apps Challenge Open Science Winners Celebration,  Thursday April 13, 2023 1-2 PM ET

Join NASA’s Transform to Open Science TOPS mission on April 13, 2023 at 1PM ET for a special community forum featuring two of NASA’s 2022 Space Apps challenge winning teams who developed winning ideas using open data and tools from NASA and partner space agencies. For more information and to register, visit the TOPS Community Forum page. Please Ask Questions beforehand.

 

Why do Open Science?

  • Broadens participation and fosters greater collaboration in scientific investigations by lowering the barriers to entry into scientific exploration
  • Generates greater impact and more citations to scientific results

Learn more about the benefits of open science.

 

Open-Source Science at NASA

Open-Source Science Initiative (OSSI) includes the following components: