COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CAN-OA-94-1
Preproposal Conference: April 7, 1994
Letters of Intent Due: April 7, 1994
Proposals Due: May 9, 1994
NOTE: Deadline has expired.
Soliciting Proposals for
Issued: March 9, 1994
Office of Aeronautics
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546
This NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) solicits proposals from all sources for 1) development of innovative applications of U. S. Earth and space science Remote Sensing DataBases via computer networks; 2) development of Digital Library technology focused on addressing the long-term scale-up requirements for the applications in 1); and 3) the establishment of a Remote Sensing Public Access Center for demonstrating, testing, and facilitating the first two activities.
The intent of this solicitation is to stimulate broad public use, via the Internet, of the very large remote sensing databases maintained by NASA and other agencies to stimulate U.S. economic growth, improve the quality of life, and contribute to the implementation of a National Information Infrastructure. The actual funding mechanisms allowed under this CAN may be either grants or cooperative agreements. The determining factor for the appropriate funding vehicle is the general level of involvement on the part of NASA in the effort. Most large awards under this solicitation will be cooperative agreements.
In the last few years, NASA has launched more science missions than in any similar period in recent history. The decade of the 1990s begins a new era of NASA scientific and applications research and development. The Earth Observing System is an effort to study the Earth as a system while tracking long-term changes on a global scale. Earth observations are being made in a wide spectrum of wavelengths, sampling rates, and resolutions. Researchers are observing the universe from NASA's Astronomical Great Observatories, sending instrumented spacecraft to every accessible solar system body, obtaining multispacecraft measurements of the generation and transport of solar energy and its interaction with the terrestrial environment. In the manned space program, sustained physical and biological experiments are conducted in the microgravity environment of space.
These science missions are obtaining massive volumes of new data with unprecedented temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution. New networking technologies will play a critical role in dealing with the massive volumes of data and distributing it to traditionally unserved communities, leading to gains in education, quality of life, and economic growth. These technologies will include digital libraries. Digital libraries are an enabling technology for the capture, storage, and dissemination of a wide variety of information sources. In addition to accessing raw remote sensing data and images, digital library technologies will allow access to derived products including animations, multimedia, and interactive multimedia.
The purpose of this CAN (Public Use Of Earth And Space Science Data Over The Internet) is to focus on developing pilot end-user Remote Sensing DataBase applications and applying new Digital Library technologies that can enable and demonstrate the application and accessibility of Earth and space science databases. To demonstrate, test and facilitate these activities, a Remote Sensing Public Access Center (RSPAC) will be established. Remote Sensing DataBase applications potential areas of interest include: atmospheric, oceanic, and land monitoring; publishing; agriculture; forestry; transportation; aquaculture; mineral exploration; land-use planning; libraries; cartography; education (especially K-12); entertainment; environmental hazards monitoring; and space science data applications. Potential Digital Library technologies include: innovative user interfaces; direct public access to satellite imagery; heterogeneous databases; information retrieval; advanced search and browse techniques; data structures; use of data and image compression; distributed database systems; accounting and data security; file storage management systems; and resource discovery. The purpose of the RSPAC will be to support the integration of Digital Library technologies with Remote Sensing DataBase applications and to serve as a demonstration/testing center and technology-transfer focal point. Potential testbed facility goals are to make some datasets readily available to end users, to give on-line help for Remote Sensing DataBase applications, to demonstrate the performance of new Digital Library technologies, and to test and evaluate Remote Sensing DataBase applications. A high-speed link will be established from the RSPAC to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to facilitate communication between these sites.
Proposals are encouraged to capitalize on existing activities or tools and capabilities that are commercially available or within the public domain. NASA expects developers to make their public-domain software available on an Internet-accessible server. Library and information science technology development, as required by applications, are anticipated. NASA encourages original and innovative proposals for effective applications of Earth and space science databases for educational, governmental, and commercial purposes to benefit broad and diverse segments of society.
Participation in this program is open to all categories of organizations, both domestic and foreign. Organizations include industry, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, NASA centers, and Federal, state, and local government agencies. Joint proposals are encouraged that demonstrate effective partnerships or cooperative arrangements between government, academia, and industry. Proposals involving traditional remote sensing users shall be collaborative proposals with nontraditional users. U.S. Federal Government agencies who wish to participate will be expected to supply their own funding. Guidelines for foreign participation are given in Appendix A, Section 9.
Investigators shall submit proposals by May 9, 1994. Peer review panels will evaluate the proposals. Selection of successful proposals is planned by July 1, 1994, but selection for complex cooperative agreements may take longer.
NASA is sponsoring this Cooperative Agreement Notice as part of its plan to expand the application outreach of its programs for collecting and using remotely sensed Earth and space science data. Funding is provided through the High Performance Computing and Communications Office and data facilities to be used in resultant agreements are provided primarily through the Office of the Mission to Planet Earth and the Office of Space Science.
An electronic copy of this CAN is available over the Internet. See instructions on CAN-Internet Access in Appendix A, Section 11.
The appendices to this announcement include further details relevant to this program. Appendix A contains more detailed technical and programmatic information on the Cooperative Agreement Notice. Appendix B contains the instructions for responding to this CAN including the schedule, proposal evaluation criteria, and specific instructions for submission of the mandatory Letter of Intent. Appendix C is a reference to data that may be used by proposers to this announcement (e.g., EOSDIS Version 0). Appendix D contains a description of the network environment currently available to be utilized for this program. Appendix E is the standard proposal format; including cover page, proposal summary forms, and required certifications. Appendix F contains specific information on the preproposal conference. Please use identifier number CAN-OA-94-1 when making an inquiry regarding this Notice.
Funds are available for awards under this CAN. NASA's ability to continue funding the cooperative agreements selected under this CAN and any future cooperative agreements are contingent upon appropriated funds. There will be two categories of awards. In the first category, there will be about 8 to 10 large awards in the range of $500K to $1,500K per year. In the second category, there will be about 8 to 20 small awards in the range of $100K to $300K per year. One or more of the larger awards will be made for the Remote Sensing Public Access Center.
Your interest and cooperation in participating in the Public Use Of Earth And Space Science Data Over The Internet NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice are appreciated.
Original signed by
Wesley Harris
Associate Administrator for Aeronautics
NOTE: The appendices have not been included in the hypertext version of this CAN.