Committee on Space Research

"At COSPAR, we strongly support GEO’s work to make satellite-based Earth science data widely accessible. But it’s not just about open access data, we also critically need proper documentation. Data documentation published in Peer-reviewed journals help solve this issue as they provide reliable, long-lasting explanations of datasets, including validation, accuracy and structure. Through our Capacity Building Workshops, we’re helping expand the expertise needed globally, and we see documentation as a crucial step toward making this data truly usable, especially for newcomers to Earth observation, in support of GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy Goal number 4."

Through the partnership between COSPAR and GEO, a commitment is being forged to facilitate the utilization of data in a manner that adheres to the principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (FAIR). Increasing availability and documentation of data is key for decision making and creating measurable impact within user communities. A rapid, reproducible, and repeatable process for consumption of data and publication resources is especially critical given present-day global challenges. COSPAR seeks to promote an accelerated framework for data use across GEO member organizations.