The NASA/Science Office of Standards and Technology (NOST) was established to foster the evolution and adoption of data systems standards for advancing the communication of scientific knowledge about Earth, the solar system, and our universe. More specifically, NOST's mission is to facilitate the recognition and use of standards to reduce the cost/benefit ratios in the exchange and management of scientific data among NASA entities and the scientific communities they serve.
The NOST strategy is to play a coordinating role in helping the science disciplines identify new standards requirements. NOST participates in partnerships with them, other agencies, and industry on facilitatin the adoption of leading-edge technologies with national or international visibility that can be tailored to meet NASA science information management and exchange requirements, and it assists in the process of moving these technologies toward standards with commercial support.
The NOST is located at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD.
NOST is very active in facilitating international standards in the data archiving and XML packaging areas.
NOST lead and coordinated the US data archiving standards efforts centered around development of the Reference Model for Open Archival Information Systems. The OAIS Reference Model was developed through a series of national and international workshops devoted to archiving issues. NOST was the lead organizer of the US meetings and was one of the main collaborators to the international efforts. The Reference Model is providing a framework and directions for development of additional archiving standards. These include the ISO and CCSDS Standard - Producer-Archive Ingest Methodology Abstract Standard and work on an ISO and a CCSDS Submission Information Packaging Standard. This work is currently being advanced through the CCSDS international meetings. NOST is also contributing with other organization on developing Digital Archive Certification guidelines. We also expect to support work on a second version of the Reference Model for Open Archival Information Systems.
The CCSDS is an international organization of national and multinational space agencies interested in mutually developing standard data handling techniques to support space research, including space science and applications. NASA participates as a Member Agency of the CCSDS and encourages other Federal Agencies to participate as Observers. NASA also sponsors participation by commercial organizations as Associate Members of the CCSDS.
NOST leads NASA's participation in the Data Archive Ingest Working Group and the Information Packaging and Registries Working Group within the Misson Operations and Information Systems (MOIMS) Area of CCSDS. NOST's participation in this activity includes provision of the NASA Primary Control Authority Office at NSSDC for the registration and dissemination of data descriptions. Software Development Efforts are underway for supporting, testing, or implementing CCSDS MOIMS (formerly CCSDS Panel 2) Recommendations.
NOST also tracks and provides input and guidance as required to other CCSDS Working Groups and Birds of a Feather Groups.
The Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is the format adopted by the astronomical community for data interchange and archival storage. The FITS Support Office is responsible for documenting the FITS standard and participating in its evolution, and advising persons involved in NASA astrophysics missions on how their data can be presented in FITS format. Originally part of NOST, the FITS Support Office now operates under the guidance of the NASA's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Center (HEASARC).
The Common Data Format (CDF) is a self-describing data abstraction for the storage and manipulation of multidimensional data in a discipline-independent fashion. The CDF Support Office is responsible for developing, maintaining, and documenting CDF software. It operates under the guidance of the Space Physics Data Facility.
The Standard Formatted Data Unit (SFDU) concept provides a set of methods and structures supporting the interchange and long term understanding of data. SFDU Structures allow the integration of any type of data along with its associated metadata into SFDU data products. The SFDU support office is responsible for advising persons involved in NASA projects on how their data can be exchanged and presented in SFDU form.
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