Summary
NASA Earth science data support activities by U.S. and international governments and organizations, disaster-relief agencies, the military, researchers from academia and the private sector, and the general public. Accommodating users across this broad spectrum is challenging. NASA now explicitly recommends that Science Mission Directorate (SMD)-funded scientific data follow the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) Principles.
The O’FAIR Guide offers an in-depth review of NASA policies and practices and their effectiveness in advancing FAIR principles in NASA science data products. It also offers practical and actionable recommendations to NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) components and data producers to bolster compliance of their data products with these principles.
Status
The Practical Guide for Open, Free & FAIR NASA Earth Science Data Products (O'FAIR Guide) was approved as a technical note in January 2026.
| Document | A Practical Guide for Open, Free & FAIR NASA Earth Science Data Products (PDF, 4.77 MB) |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5067/DOC/ESCO/ESDS-RFC-057V1 |
| Suggested Citation | Peng, Ge, Downs, Robert R., Ramapriyan, Hampapuram K., Wei, Yaxing, Ramachandran, Bhaskar, Parsons, Mark A., Liu, Zhong, & NASA ESDSWG OFAIR Working Group. (2025). A Practical Guide for Open, Free and FAIR NASA Earth Science Data Products. NASA Earth Science Data and Information System Standards Coordination Office. https://doi.org/10.5067/DOC/ESCO/ESDS-RFC-057V1 |
| Additional Resources | O'FAIR Guide Cheat Sheet (PDF, 1.5 MB) Aligning NASA Earth Science Data Stewardship with FAIR Principles: Outcomes, Recommendations, and Future Directions. (Data Science Journal, Volume 25) |
Recommendations for Use
Applicability
The O’FAIR Guide provides guidance on applying FAIR principles and achieving compliance with SPD-41. It is primarily intended for scientific data produced by NASA SMD-funded Earth science missions starting from the 2023 ROSES solicitations, and secondarily for scientific data from existing missions and investigations.
Limitations
This guide addresses FAIR principles as they apply to data products (collections). Additional effort will be needed to address FAIR principles as they apply to data files and variables.