Example Resources

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NASA Resources

NASA Backgrounder: What is Remote Sensing

Fundamentals of Remote Sensing

Earthdata Search
- NASA Earth data are online and are readily downloaded
Earthdata Login
- Provides free and immediate access to thousands of NASA Earth data products covering all Earth science disciplines and topic areas for researchers, applied science users, application developers, and the general public. Each participant will need a login to download data. Registration is easy and free of charge, as is data access.
Earthdata Forum
- If you have specific questions about how to use data, tools, or resources, please visit the Earthdata Forum. Here, you can interact with other data users and NASA subject matter experts on a variety of Earth science research and applications topics.
EMIT Data
- Download EMIT data from Earthdata Search
NASA Dust Detective Delivers First Maps From Space for Climate Science
- Example of EMIT data in action
SAR data - Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
- What is SAR? This backgrounder provides information about these data and why they are important.
NASA Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF)
- Download SAR data from Earthdata Search or from NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC
Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B SAR data from Earthdata Search

UAVSAR from Earthdata Search
- From 2006-2011, the Phased Array type L-band SAR (PALSAR), onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-1 (ALOS-1) acquired data from multiple observation modes with varying polarizations and resolutions.
ALOS PALSAR from Earthdata Search
- Radiometrically terrain corrected (RTC) data are available in GeoTIFF format.
ARSET- Introduction to SAR Training
- SAR data tutorials - The Alaska Satellite Facility provides NASA SAR data, tools and tutorials. For information on processing Level 1 data, view the Introduction to SAR training from NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET).
HLS Data from Earthdata Search

HLS data tutorial
- Tutorial for getting started with HLS data in Python
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
- The GRACE satellites measure gravity anomalies and changes in the distribution of water on the planet. These satellites are used to determine contributions to sea level rise, help us understand ocean circulation, measure groundwater depletion, and detect changes caused by geological processes.
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On - GRACE-FO
- GRACE-FO also measures gravity anomalies and changes in the distribution of water on the planet. These satellites are used to determine contributions to sea level rise, help us understand ocean circulation, and measure groundwater depletion, as well as detecting changes caused by geological processes.
GRACE WET Surface Mass Anomaly
- Monthly data from 2002–2017 from each solution.
GRACE-FO WET Surface Mass Anomaly
- Monthly data from 2018 – present from each solution.
AVIRIS data from Earthdata Search

NASA Earth Observatory Stories that show how data are connected to geological phenomena around the world:

Data Pathfinders to guide users through the process of selecting application-specific datasets and learning how to use them through intuitive tools:

Other Resources

EMIT Overview
- EMIT - Launched in the summer of 2022, EMIT or the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation is a new state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer. It measures surface mineralogy and mineral dust of the Earth's arid dust source regions. The race is on to see all of the applications that can come out of the EMIT mission.
EMIT data tutorials
- Data tutorials from NASA’s Land Processing (LP) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
ASTER Overview
- ASTER (pre-2008) - Launched aboard Terra in 1999, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor has provided geologists with the ability to map minerals around the world, create the USGS National Map of Surficial Mineralogy, and identify hydrothermally altered volcanoes to help predict volcanic flows near major cities.
ASTER Search Data Catalog
- Download ASTER data from Earthdata Search. Find the right product for your project on the LP DAAC’s Search Data Catalog and then click on the “Access Data” button on each product’s specific DOI landing page to be directed to that data product in Earthdata Search.
LP DAAC E-Learning
- ASTER data tutorials can be found on the LP DAAC’s E-Learning and Data Prep Script pages.
LP DAAC Data Prep Script
- ASTER data tutorials can be found on the LP DAAC’s E-Learning and Data Prep Script pages.
USGS National Map of Surficial Mineralogy
- ASTER / Landsat creating the USGS National Map of Surficial Mineralogy
Better Understanding the Hot Topic of Lahars through ASTER
- ASTER is also used to study volcanoes
LP DAAC Article Highlights

ASF DAAC SAR Data Recipes
- When choosing SAR data for interferometry, inclusion of phase information is required. Level 1 data are produced as single look complex (SLC), in which the phase information is preserved. To learn more about SAR processing Level 1 data, view the ASF DAAC SAR data recipes (select InSAR).
Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B SAR data from Vertex
- Vertex is ASF DAAC's search tool, which allows for the preview of numerous types of SAR data, including Sentinel-1.
UAVSAR from Vertex
- UAVSAR is an airborne SAR instrument operating at L-band. Missions over portions of North America, Greenland, Iceland, and North, Central, and South America were conducted from 2008 to present.
Advanced Land Observing Satellite-1 (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) from Vertex

Harmonized Landsat Sentinel (HLS)
- The Harmonized Landsat Sentinel (HLS) data product combines Landsat 8 and 9 data with measurements from Europe’s Sentinel-2A and 2B satellites. This allows global observations of the land surface every 2-3 days.
GRACE Python Script
- GRACE, GRACE-FO data tutorial: NASA's Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC) has developed a python script to convert the JPL GRACE Mascon file from netCDF4 to GeoTIFF format. This GRACE python script decomposes the multi-year monthly Mascon netCDF file into single GeoTIFF files for each month.
Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS)
- The AVIRIS hyperspectral instruments are used in airborne campaigns for a wide range of studies that include the fields of environmental science, snow hydrology, geology, volcanology, oceanography, and soil and land management.

Space Agency Partner Resources

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

RADARSAT Constellation Mission
- RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is a constellation of three Canadian satellites that use a technology called synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to capture images of the Earth's surface. It has been active since 2019. SAR can be used to measure a lot of things that a geologist might be interested in, including the shape of the Earth's surface (morphopology), movement due to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, and well as surface roughness. As these satellites are still active, this dataset is continually being updated with new images. The data is available through the Earth Observation Data Management System (EODMS), linked here: https://www.eodms-sgdot.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/index-en.html.
RADARSAT -1 Archive
- RADARSAT-1 was a Canadian satellite, active from 1995 to 2013, that captured images of the Earth's surface using a technology called synthetic aperture radar (SAR). SAR can be used to measure a lot of things that a geologist might be interested in, including the shape of the Earth's surface (morphopology), movement due to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, and well as surface roughness. Archived RADARSAT-1 data is available on the Earth Observation Data Management System as well as via an AWS S3 bucket. This is another rich source of SAR data.

You could also conduct an internet search to gather relevant information that may be useful. Potential search keywords could include:

NASA study connects Southern California, Mexico faults
ORNL DAAC
Deltax Workshop 2022
Ash Emissions – ASTER Thermal Infrared Orbital Data

2023 NASA Space Apps Challenge

Be a Space Geologist