What if the captain of Titanic knew about the iceberg? Would we ever hear about a film called Titanic? Would that film ever be released? Would 1,500 people lose their lives? The answer is NO! The iceberg doesn’t only represent a part of nature, but he is part of everything, he is a part of us! If we get to see the whole parts of the iceberg, history can change. Open Data can be the secret door that changes the future!
Empowering Open Science together with OpenScientia.
Hey there! Welcome to OpenScientia. OpenScientia is a user-friendly web application that allows you to access data directly from NASA archives. Here, you can effortlessly explore various types of data, knowledge, and information with just a few clicks. OpenScientia provides access to data such as displaying the Mars Rover Photos and text-based information from the NASA Media Library.
Check it out at OpenScientia!
Our problem: The issue with our NASA data is that often it can be challenging to access for many coupled with mountains of data that can be time-consuming to comb through.
According to NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) Program, the term “Open Science” is defined as a collaborative culture enabled by technology that empowers the open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public to accelerate scientific research and understanding. A system based on open science aims to make the scientific process as open as possible by making all elements of a claimed discovery readily accessible, which enables results to be repeated and validated.
In short, Open science is a movement that aims to make scientific research and data more accessible, transparent, and collaborative. In this case, we highlight the impact of open science with OpenScientia in three terms, which are:
- Accessibility
- Inclusivity
- Reproducibility
However, one of the critical issues to be emphasized in our progress marching toward the era of open science is the lack of proper data management. Although NASA’s data such as The ESDS Program provides full and open access to NASA's collection of Earth science data, it might not be as accessible and generally known by the public. This can limit the ability of the majority of our society, including university or school students and enthusiasts to learn more as well as make new discoveries and advancements in the field.
Besides that, the issue regarding inclusivity shall also be highlighted. Oftentimes, the data are presented in a relatively professional and scientific way, which restricts the understanding of the general public, at a certain level. Therefore, NASABot presents the publicly available data in a rather easier and simpler way to understand, by a straightforward search engine-like webpage, to enable an effortless way for the public to access and comprehend the data.
In addition, the reproducibility of the data is also taken into consideration.
Our web application called OpenScientia is designed to make accessing data quick and easy especially as well as convenient with simple prompts and selections. A good example is
- To increase accessibility, inclusivity, and reproducibility of NASA science
- To ensure easy and quick access to NASA's data
- To advance scientific research and innovation
- To promote collaboration and knowledge sharing
- To contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4: Quality Education
Target audience:
- Space enthusiasts
- Students
- Researchers
- Everyone interested in astronomy, space exploration, and related subject matter.
Competition: No competition only collaboration!
Unique proposition: In contrast to conventional static space websites, our web application provides a user-friendly and dynamic platform for users to explore real-time space data, instructional content, and community involvement.
Market entry strategy: To get started, we intend to debut with a substantial content library.
Pricing strategy: Free access.
Distribution channels: To advertise our software, we will make use of social media, space discussion forums, and collaborations with space news organizations.
Legal considerations: We will make sure that copyright and space data usage laws are followed.
Swot analysis:
*Our user-friendliness and real-time data are our strongest suit.
*Our greatest opportunity presents itself in the expansion of the space sector.
Market positioning: We present ourselves as the leading platform for engaging space exploration and education, with messaging emphasizing user participation and real-time data availability.
- Our marketing strategy starts with a deep user needs understanding. We aim to ensure a user-centric approach.
- Our web application stands out by providing a user-friendly experience, making it effortless for everyone to get access to data!
- We are considering creating and sharing valuable content to help users harness the full potential of our web application, such as webinars, tutorials, and blog posts.
- Email campaign planning will also be implemented, so as to share the latest features, like data tips, and tricks to help users to boost their data access experience.
- We are exploring partnerships with influential figures in data analysis and data-related businesses, to endorse the perfect combination of simplicity and effectiveness, in other to generate additional value and expand the user reach base.
- Our commitment to user delight means continuous updates and outstanding user service.
- Our data-driven strategy involves ongoing analyses of user’s interactions and preferences to enhance the user experience.
- Downstream, we will make sure to collect users’ feedback by encouraging them to share their thoughts and suggestions for ongoing betterment.
Main Screen: This program is designed to work very similar to an internet search engine. To simplify the search process, clicking on the search bar will open the drop-down menu where the user can select the desired type of data they want.
The layout of the Openscientia site
Note that the red, yellow, and green buttons on the top left of the window do not work
Astronomy Picture of the Day: Selecting this prompt in the drop-down menu and selecting Submit will give you the current day's selected picture from the NASA API. The image will be provided with the date as well as a description of the image contents to give the viewer some background context and some information on how the image was taken.
An Example of the picture of the day for October 7 taken from the API
Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC): When selecting this option, you get a second prompt asking for a date. You can either type or select a date from the calendar and once you press search, you get a full list of photos from the EPIC from that particular date.
Prompt screen for the EPIC option
On the side of each image, there are arrows that allow you to change the image to a different part of the earth's surface. Selecting the left arrow with give a view of the earth shifted to the west and vice versa for the right arrow. EPIC provides full-color high-definition photos of the earth's day side from Lagrange 1 orbit.
Example of the type of images taken from EPIC that can be displayed
Near Earth Object Web Service: Submitting this option will give you 2 green buttons labelled "NEO Browse" and "NEO Feed".
NEO browse pulls up the full database of near earth objects recorded since the year 1900. This gives you the name, magnitude, Relative velocity, minimum estimated data, close approach date, and potential hazard of the near earth objects.
The datasheet returned from selecting NEO browse
NEO feed allows the user to see the list of near earth objects for a given period between 2 entered dates. It features their name, ID, diameter, closest approach time, velocity, miss distance, magnitude, and if its hazardous
The prompt screen for NEO Feed. It is very important that the dates entered are no more than 7 days apart
Mars rover Photos: This prompt will require the sol or day on Mars and a selection of camera options. Sol represents the martian days that the Curiosity rover has been on Mars and a number can be entered to select the exact day that the photos are taken. The select camera allows the user to find the image based on the camera used on the Curiosity rover to take the image.
Selection screen for access to Mars rover photos. Note that on some sols, the selected camera is not used which will not provide an image for the prompt. As a result, the prompt will only provide a blank display
Martian weather update:* When selecting this option, the program will return the current weather in Gale Crater on Mars which is measured by the Mars Curiosity rover. The weather from the past 7 sols on Mars as well as the Earth date equivalent will also be displayed below the current weather data. The Temperature measurement can also be changed between Fahrenheit and Celsius by clicking on F or C next to the current high and low temperatures.
Weather data display screen example
Trek Map: Utilizing this option, you will be taken to an application that allows top-down browsing of a selected celestial body's surface very much like the maps application on most smart devices
Mercury's surface is shown with the various options to fine-tune the data
OpenScientia could create significant impacts, for both the scientific community and the general public. Our primary focus is on researchers, students, enthusiasts, educators, and citizen scientists. Researchers can benefit from OpenScientia by accessing open science data to conduct their research. Students may use data presented on OpenScientia to complete their coursework and research projects while enthusiasts can explore open science data related to space exploration, astronomy, and other scientific fields. Educators can incorporate open science data into their teaching and curriculum. Citizen scientists can contribute to scientific research by analyzing open science data.
First of all, OpenScientia is an excellent tool that can make NASA's data more accessible to the public, enabling them to access valuable scientific information. As we highlight the inclusivity of OpenScientia, it is a search-engine-based web application, with a user-friendly design, enabling it to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. This feature helps not only the scientific community but also the general public to understand scientific information better.
By making scientific data more accessible and transparent, OpenScientia can enhance public understanding of science and promote scientific literacy. This, in turn, can encourage citizen science initiatives and engagement, allowing individuals to contribute to scientific research by analyzing the open science data made available through OpenScientia.
OpenScientia can also increase accessibility to Earth observation data, allowing the public to better understand and address environmental challenges.
Furthermore, by promoting open science practices, OpenScientia can increase transparency and accountability in scientific research, starting with NASA Science. This will ensure that research findings are accurate and valid, leading to discoveries and advancements in various fields and accelerating our scientific progress.
Moreover, Open Scientia enhances the reproducibility of open science, by making NASA's data openly available, enabling others to confirm their findings. This also promotes transparency and accountability in scientific research, ensuring that research findings are precise and reliable. Hence, OpenScientia enables the public to gain a better understanding of NASA's data, leading to more dependable results as the public can confirm their findings.
By making NASA's data more understandable and accessible to a wider range of individuals and communities, OpenScientia also promotes diversity and inclusion. Everyone can simply navigate through and find their desired results with its user-friendly webpage.
In summary, our web application is designed to make NASA data and imagery easily accessible to the masses with a user-friendly prompt. Any person regardless of background or level of knowledge can simply enter what they want in the program and it will give out exactly the type of information asked as well as simple options to fine-tune the type of information given.
- NASA API Service
- Javascript
- Python
- HTML
- CSS
- Web Development by Prithwis Das, Ahmed Dedeler, and Haoxian Kang.
- Documentation by Joshua Wong, Safaa Faiz, and Chuah Yee Jia.