NASA has selected 41 proposals in response to the
“Research, Education, and Applications Solutions Network,” a
cooperative agreement notice known as “REASoN.”

The selected proposals will expedite the use of NASA Earth
Science observational measurements, models and systems
engineering capabilities. REASoN ensures scientists studying
Earth System Science have access to the most accurate and
complete key geophysical observation records. Solutions that
serve society will emerge from the selected proposals to help
us understand and protect our home planet, while inspiring
our next generation of explorers.

“As NASA increases our efforts in the area of Earth System
Science, it is vital we pursue new, innovative methods for
making these tools available to the widest possible
audience,” said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Associate Administrator,
Office of Earth Sciences, NASA Headquarters, Washington. “The
research, applications and education elements of the Earth
Science community share interests and requirements that can
be best met through cooperative efforts that can generate,
access and distribute data, information and knowledge,” he
said.

“These projects will unite previously disparate activities
and programs under a cohesive management approach, taking
full advantage of public and private resources and
partnerships to derive maximum benefit for the public good,
and are consistent with the President’s initiative on
competitive sourcing,” Asrar said.

NASA is generating Earth System data of unprecedented quality
and quantity, developing data processing and modeling
capabilities to transform the data into products and
information, forming new knowledge of our home planet. The
activities support science findings and applications directed
toward understanding and predicting the Earth’s future.

NASA Earth Science data, data products and data processing
algorithms are stored in archives at centers across the
United States and linked by the Internet for data access and
distribution. Capabilities developed by NASA complement
capabilities in the commercial sector to acquire and
distribute Earth observation data and information products
using the Internet as the medium of choice by public and
private sector organizations and the general public for
access to, and delivery of, digital information.

NASA received 258 proposals in response to the notice.
Funding availability limited the selection to 41 proposals.
All proposals went through a peer-review process and were
selected based on highest merit. NASA has committed $96
million to support selected proposals. The selected proposals
come from 17 states.

A complete listing of selected proposals is available on the
Internet at:
http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_y/dynamic.cfm?op_fy=2003

For information about NASA and Earth Science on the Internet,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov