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Business Africa Brochure |
The Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a comprehensive data and information system developed by NASA under the Earth Science enterprise. EOSDIS manages data from past and current Earth science research satellites, and from field measurement programs; provides processing, data archive and distribution; and provides information management services.
EOSDIS consists of eight Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) and affiliated data centers which archive and distribute data from government and commercial observing missions. The DAACs are the network of data centers whose primary goal is to make information about the Earth's environment available to the scientific and non-scientific communities. IN MOST CASES, THE DATA ARE FREE!
The Langley DAAC was established in 1991 to support the EOS as part of NASA's Earth Science enterprise and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The DAAC, located at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is responsible for the processing, archival and distribution of NASA's science products in the areas of radiation budget, clouds, aerosols, and tropospheric chemistry. These disciplines include more than 20 projects. In addition, the Langley DAAC has over 250 data sets available, and data from new EOS instruments, scheduled to be launched by the year 2002, will be archived at the Langley DAAC.
Some of the scientific data from the NASA's Earth Science enterprise provide important information to help enhance life in rural areas of developing countries that are struggling with poor sanitation, inadequate energy supplies, and heavy reliance on human labor. According to Dr. Charles Whitlock, a senior NASA scientist, about 40 percent of the people in the world have no electricity. As a result of having no electricity, the drinking water is often contaminated, and must be retrieved by hand from wells or streams. The human time and effort needed to meet the requirements of basic human health, food, and shelter typically leave little opportunity for significant economic and social development. There is very little site data available from ground sites for much of the globe, including large regions of Africa. The NASA satellite data provide the best estimate available of the amount of solar energy at the Earth's surface - energy which could be used in power applications for remote regions.
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