Enclosure 4 - 80HQTR25R7003 New Product Guidance.pdf

Preface

This document is under CSDA Project configuration control. Once this document is approved, CSDA approved changes are handled in accordance with Class I and Class II change control requirements described in the CSDA Configuration Management Procedures based on NASA standard configuration practices, and changes to this document shall be made by document change notice (DCN), documented in the Change History Log or by complete revision.

Abstract

The purpose of this document is to establish a shared understanding between NASA and commercial partners on what constitutes a new science product vs. a Product Version Update of an existing product. This guidance enables commercial satellite data providers to enhance the value of their data offerings to NASA by aligning with agency standards and contributing scientifically useful, novel, and validated Earth observation products. By adhering to this framework, providers will support NASA’s mission to advance Earth system science and improve decision-making through integrated data acquisition and use.

Key Definitions New Science Product: A product that delivers new geophysical variables, a novel retrieval method, a significant change in intended scientific use, or derived analytics not previously provided to NASA. New products often correspond to higher-level data (Level 2–4) and may originate from entirely new algorithms or sensor fusion techniques.

Product Version Update: A reprocessing or technical enhancement of an existing product, using the same fundamental measurement and science content. Examples include improved calibration, updated atmospheric corrections, or metadata changes that do not alter the core scientific variable.

Cover Art: Cover art is AI generated graphic using Microsoft Copilot Designer using term “commercial satellite constellation Earth observation across Atlantic AND Northern Hemisphere AND digital downlink”

Change History Log

Revision Effective Date Description of Changes

1.0 08/11/2025 First draft

1. Overview

2. What Constitutes a New Science Product from Remote Sensing Satellites

2.1. Guidelines for General Elements of a "Science Product"

3. Sensor-Specific Guidance

3.1. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

3.2. Hyperspectral Sensors

3.3. Multispectral Sensors

3.4. Precipitation Radar

3.5. Microwave Sounders

3.6. Carbon and Methane Emissions Sensors

3.7. Thermal Imagers

3.8. Optical Sensors

4. Deliverables for Product Version Updates and New Proposed Products

4.1. Product Version Updates

4.2. New Products being Proposed

5. Conclusion

6. Resources

1. Overview The NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program aims to leverage commercial Earth observation capabilities to complement NASA’s science objectives. As part of this collaboration, commercial data providers are encouraged to propose and deliver science quality data products that are compatible with NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) and aligned with recognized best practices in remote sensing science.

This guidance is for existing commercial data partners under contract and outlines NASA’s expectations for distinguishing between a new science product and a revision of an existing product, derived from various sensor types including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), hyperspectral, multispectral, microwave, precipitation radar, greenhouse gas (CO₂/CH₄) sensors, thermal imagers, and optical systems. This document will supplement future guidance developed in partnership between agencies, international partners, standards working groups, and commercial data providers on the standards and best practices for data product development.

2. What Constitutes a New Science Product from Remote Sensing Satellites A new science product from a remote sensing satellite is an output derived either directly or through further processing from satellite sensor data that provides unique geophysical, biological, or chemical measurements, interpretations, or applications not previously available. The exact definition depends on both the sensing technology and the scientific or operational objectives.

Below is a sensor-by-sensor guide outlining what constitutes a new science product, leveraging best practices and guidance from NASA, NOAA, and international standards bodies.

2.1. Guidelines for General Elements of a "Science Product"

• Standardization: Adopting consistent data formats, structures, protocols, and interfaces is fundamental. This ensures different systems can understand and exchange data efficiently.

Use of community or industry standards (schemas, ontologies, vocabularies) is recommended. The product should meet quality control, data standards (e.g., CEOS, NASA, NOAA guidelines), and applicable licensing requirements.

• Metadata Management: Providing rich, standardized metadata for datasets gives context and enables discovery, understanding, and integration of data products. Metadata clarifies structure, provenance, and meaning, facilitating interoperability.

• Open Standards & APIs: Embracing open standards and providing APIs (Application

Programming Interfaces) enable broad connectivity and hassle-free data exchange, while preventing vendor lock-in.

• Data Quality & Governance: Ensuring data is accurate, complete, consistent, and up to date is critical. Strong data governance frameworks and quality management practices contribute to reliable and trustworthy data products.

• Semantic Interoperability: Beyond syntactic compatibility, systems need to agree on the meaning of data—achieved through common vocabularies, ontologies, and data models.

This enables accurate interpretation across scientific domains.

• Data Context and Structural Commonality: Datasets should share contextual compatibility

(meaning and use of fields/tables) and comparable structural features, so they can be joined or related without major transformation.

• Security and Privacy: Protecting sensitive data through encryption, robust access controls, and adherence to regulations ensures interoperable products are also secure and compliant.

• Openness and Accessibility: Interoperable data products should be easily accessible, documented, and reusable, promoting collaboration and resource sharing within and across research communities.

• Scalability and Flexibility: Data providers should design products that can handle increased data volumes and adapt to evolving scientific requirements or tools.

• Collaboration and Governance Models: Data providers should foster cross-domain collaboration and establish governance frameworks so different teams can work toward interoperability without excessive loss of autonomy.

• Traceable Processing: Data providers should provide clearly define data lineage and algorithms with version control.

• Validation: Data providers should provide demonstrated and minimum performance specifications, with uncertainties characterized.

3. Sensor-Specific Guidance

3.1. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a currently available data layer, such as surface water extent, backscatter, or displacement, including products like surface deformation maps, improved surface or volume change detection (e.g., glacier movement, subsidence), novel land or water surface disturbance layers, or advanced interferometric analyses, each with defined algorithms, processing level, and a documented validation history.

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to an existing geophysical variable, which may include higher spatial resolution, updated calibration, minor refinements to algorithms, improved uncertainty characterization, or enhanced pre-processing methods.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a fundamentally different geophysical variable or analytic layer not previously available, such as a transition from basic backscatter maps to surface disturbance detection or seasonal inundation timing.

3.2. Hyperspectral Sensors

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a current product that produces standard outputs, which may include NDVI derived from visible bands or general material classification.

• Product Version Update: Update is defined as the enhancement of retrievals for existing indices or variables, which may include improvements in classification accuracy, expansion of the spectral range, or refinement of spatial resolution.

• New Product: A new product is defined as an entirely new analytic layer, which may include capabilities such as real-time pollutant mapping, detection of new gases, or novel biochemical property retrievals (e.g., specific mineral or chemical mapping not previously performed).

3.3. Multispectral Sensors

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a routinely generated output derived from multispectral sensors, such as vegetation indices, land cover maps, or surface reflectance products.

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to an existing multispectral product, which may include upgraded algorithms, increased temporal resolution, or expansion of the geographic coverage area.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a unique index, classification scheme, or application, such as a burn severity index or drought stress indicator, that addresses a measurement or analysis gap not met by existing multispectral outputs.

3.4. Precipitation Radar

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a currently generated output from precipitation radar sensors, such as rainfall rate, vertical profiles, rain/snow phase discrimination, or retrievals of precipitation microphysical properties, including drop size and phase identification.

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to an existing precipitation radar product, which may include improved error models, refined calibration, finer spatial or temporal resolution, or additional uncertainty quantification for the same variables.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a previously unavailable output that provides additional insight into precipitation phenomena, such as detailed microphysical properties (e.g., drop size distribution), storm structure analytics, or flash flood early warning indices.

3.5. Microwave Sounders

• Existing Product: An existing product is defined as a currently generated output from microwave sounder sensors, such as atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles.

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to existing microwave sounder products, which may include higher vertical resolution, reduced retrieval bias, or improved inter-sensor calibration for the same profiles.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a previously unavailable output derived from the same radiances, such as atmospheric stability indices, surface emissivity maps, or new air quality indices.

3.6. Carbon and Methane Emissions Sensors

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a currently generated output from carbon and methane emissions sensors, such as column-integrated CH₄ or CO₂ concentrations.

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to existing products measuring the same species, which may include algorithm refinements to achieve lower detection limits or reduced uncertainty.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a previously unavailable output, such as event-based emission detection (e.g., facility-scale leaks), multi-species quantification, or newly derived flux maps at spatial and temporal scales not previously offered.

3.7. Thermal Imagers

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a currently generated output from thermal imagers, such as land and sea surface temperature maps or thermal anomaly detection (e.g., wildfires, urban heat).

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to existing thermal products, which may include higher temporal or spatial sampling or improved atmospheric correction.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a previously unavailable output, such as thermal inertia mapping, diurnal temperature range indices, or subpixel fire characterization products.

3.8. Optical Sensors

• Existing Product Examples: An existing product is defined as a currently generated output from optical sensors, such as surface reflectance, standard true-color imagery, or traditional indices (e.g., NDVI).

• Product Version Update: A product version update is defined as an enhancement to existing optical products, which may include improved cloud or shadow masking, more precise geolocation, or other refinements to the same outputs.

• New Product: A new product is defined as a previously unavailable output, such as novel indices (e.g., water turbidity, new burn indices) or thematic layers addressing surface phenomena not previously targeted.

4. Deliverables for Product Version Updates and New Proposed Products

4.1. Product Version Updates

When a commercial data provider releases a product version update for data to be delivered or previously delivered under NASA’s CSDA program, they should supply comprehensive documentation to ensure transparency, traceability, and continuity of scientific use. This should include information such as: a detailed change log describing all modifications from the previous version (e.g., sensor calibration updates, algorithm changes, processing chain revisions, geolocation improvements, or format alterations); updated product specifications and metadata definitions reflecting the new version; validation and quality assessment reports demonstrating impacts on data accuracy, precision, and usability; version identifiers embedded in file naming and metadata; sample data files for verification; and any revised user guides or interface documentation. Providers should also indicate backward compatibility, note any deprecated features or parameters, and describe potential impacts on ongoing NASA analyses or workflows.

Where applicable, a summary of reprocessing applied to historical data should be included, along with timelines for transition and continued access to legacy versions for comparative research. All documentation provided should be marked proprietary and will have limited distribution aligning to program restrictions. This will support revisit evaluations performed by the CSDA program.

4.2. New Products being Proposed

When a commercial data provider proposes adding a new product to NASA’s CSDA data catalog under an existing IDIQ contract, they should provide a complete product introduction package to enable technical, scientific, and contractual evaluation. This should include: full technical specifications in an ATBD (Algorithm Theoretical Based Document) document including resolution, geolocation accuracy, swath width, revisit rates, and data formats; a detailed product description outlining the sensing modality, spectral and spatial characteristics, temporal coverage, and unique capabilities; information on acquisition modes, tasking capabilities, and delivery timelines; include documentation of processing levels, calibration/validation methods, and quality control procedures; and a clear description of how the product aligns with NASA Earth science research needs and applications. The provider should also supply licensing terms, pricing structures in the pricing list based on the CSDA template, information on anticipated data volumes, and any interoperability considerations with existing CSDA holdings. If the product derives from a new satellite platform or sensor, launch and operational status details should be included, along with any planned upgrades or expansions that could affect future availability. All documentation provided should be marked proprietary and will have limited distribution aligning to program restrictions. Furthermore, if the product is selected for formal evaluation, sample product files must be delivered within 48 hours of the awarded task order. If publicly available data exists, it is recommended to include a link in the proposal so that Data Management Developers can perform the necessary software updates for data ingest.

5. Conclusion This guidance enables commercial satellite data providers understand when a product needs to be updated in the current contract data catalog and pricing list (Product Version Updates) or when the product needs to be proposed through the procurement on-ramping process (new products). By adhering to this framework, providers will support NASA’s mission to advance Earth system science and improve decision-making through integrated data acquisition and use.

6. Resources

• NASA ESDS Standards: standards to promote interoperability across NASA's Earth

Science data systems. These standards allow NASA to tap into community expertise, ideas, and technologies, ensuring that Earth data can be consistently tested, verified, and shared among researchers.

o ESDS Standards | NASA Earthdata

• CEOS Common Practices/CGMS GHG Roadmap: Community-accepted methodologies for GHG reporting, product processing, and quality assurance for satellite-derived emissions measurements.

• Algorithm Theoretical Based Documents: (template attached to this amendment 2) o Example ATBDs:

SWOT L2 KaRIn High Rate Pixel Cloud Product SWOT KaRIn Ocean OBP ATBD (D-79130) SWOT KaRIn Land OBP ATBD (D-55533) Tropospheric Aerosol over Dark Targets EMIT L3 Aggregated Mineral Spectral Abundance

IMERG V07

• Data Product Development Guide for Data Producers: Data Product Development Guide for Data Producers | NASA Earthdata