NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition Program Releases Archived and Tasked Multispectral Data from Satellogic

“The mission of the CSDA Program is to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial sources that support NASA’s Earth science research and application goals,” said CSDA Project Manager Dana Ostrenga. “The addition of this product from Satellogic to the SDX demonstrates the CSDA Program’s ongoing commitment to that mission, as well as to our objective of bringing high-quality, Earth observation data from NASA’s commercial partners to the Earth Science community.”

This Level 1D product, which is equivalent to a NASA-defined Level 1C data product, is derived from satellites in Satellogic’s NewSat constellation, each of which carries a multispectral camera offering four bands in visible (red, green, and blue) and near-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The product provides images covering 25,000 square kilometers (km²) of the Satellogic archive.

Researchers interested in accessing this data product in SDX can use their Earthdata Login for authentication and initiate data download requests. The product includes all associated metadata and documentation, and its use is governed by the United States government plus End User License Agreement (USG EULA)

About SDX

The SDX allows users to search, discover, and access a variety of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), digital elevation model (DEM), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), multispectral, and precipitation radar data acquired through the CSDA program. It also provides streamlined data download, automated quota tracking, and a new coverage map that provides a high-level overview of the spatial coverage of the data discoverable through the SDX for any specified month and year.  For a summary of the NASA commercial partner datasets available in SDX, visit the SDX website.

To order data from SDX, users must create an account with and be logged in to NASA Earthdata.  (The initial attempt to use SDX will redirect users to Earthdata Login, where they will be prompted to enter their Earthdata credentials and accept the terms of the EULA.) Users must agree to the terms of the EULA before any data can be requested.  Note: All data requests must be approved by CSDA data managers. 

About the CSDA Program

NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) established the CSDA Program to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial providers that to support NASA’s Earth science research and applications. NASA recognizes the potential of commercial satellite constellations to advance Earth System Science and applications for societal benefit and believes commercially acquired data may also can augment the Earth observations acquired by NASA, and other U.S. government agencies, and NASA’s international partners.

All data from CSDA contract-awarded vendors are evaluated by the investigator-led CSDA project teams that assess the value of adding a vendor’s data to CSDA’s data holdings based on their quality and how they might benefit in the context of NASA Earth science research and applications. To learn more about the program, its commercial partners, data evaluation process, and more, visit the CSDA website.

Learning Resources

For more information on the CSDA Program’s SDX, see the SDX user guide.

Detailed information about the Level 1D products is available on the Satellogic website.

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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Completes First AI-Planned Drive on Mars 

The team for the six-wheeled scientist used a vision-capable AI to create a safe route over the Red Planet’s surface without the input of human route planners. 

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has completed the first drives on another world that were planned by artificial intelligence. Executed on Dec. 8 and 10, and led by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the demonstration used generative AI to create waypoints for Perseverance, a complex decision-making task typically performed manually by the mission’s human rover planners.  

“This demonstration shows how far our capabilities have advanced and broadens how we will explore other worlds,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Autonomous technologies like this can help missions to operate more efficiently, respond to challenging terrain, and increase science return as distance from Earth grows. It’s a strong example of teams applying new technology carefully and responsibly in real operations.” 

During the demonstration, the team leveraged a type of generative AI called vision-language models to analyze existing data from JPL’s surface mission dataset. The AI used the same imagery and data that human planners rely on to generate waypoints — fixed locations where the rover takes up a new set of instructions — so that Perseverance could safely navigate the challenging Martian terrain. 

The initiative was led out of JPL’s Rover Operations Center (ROC) in collaboration with Anthropic, using the company’s Claude AI models.  

Progress for Mars, beyond 

Mars is on average about 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) away from Earth. This vast distance creates a significant communication lag, making real-time remote operation — or “joy-sticking” — of a rover impossible. Instead, for the past 28 years, over several missions, rover routes have been planned and executed by human “drivers,” who analyze the terrain and status data to sketch a route using waypoints, which are usually spaced no more than 330 feet (100 meters) apart to avoid any potential hazards. Then they send the plans via NASA’s Deep Space Network to the rover, which executes them. 

But for Perseverance’s drives on the 1,707 and 1,709 Martian days, or sols, of the mission, the team did something different: Generative AI provided the analysis of the high-resolution orbital imagery from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and terrain-slope data from digital elevation models. After identifying critical terrain features — bedrock, outcrops, hazardous boulder fields, sand ripples, and the like — it generated a continuous path complete with waypoints.

To ensure the AI’s instructions were fully compatible with the rover’s flight software, the engineering team also processed the drive commands through JPL’s “digital twin” (virtual replica of the rover), verifying over 500,000 telemetry variables before sending commands to Mars. 

On Dec. 8, with generative AI waypoints in its memory, Perseverance drove 689 feet (210 meters). Two days later, it drove 807 feet (246 meters). 

“The fundamental elements of generative AI are showing a lot of promise in streamlining the pillars of autonomous navigation for off-planet driving: perception (seeing the rocks and ripples), localization (knowing where we are), and planning and control (deciding and executing the safest path),” said Vandi Verma, a space roboticist at JPL and a member of the Perseverance engineering team. “We are moving towards a day where generative AI and other smart tools will help our surface rovers handle kilometer-scale drives while minimizing operator workload, and flag interesting surface features for our science team by scouring huge volumes of rover images.”

“Imagine intelligent systems not only on the ground at Earth, but also in edge applications in our rovers, helicopters, drones, and other surface elements trained with the collective wisdom of our NASA engineers, scientists, and astronauts,” said Matt Wallace, manager of JPL’s Exploration Systems Office. “That is the game-changing technology we need to establish the infrastructure and systems required for a permanent human presence on the Moon and take the U.S. to Mars and beyond.”   

More about Perseverance 

Managed for NASA by Caltech, JPL is home to the Rover Operations Center (ROC). It also manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

For more information on the ROC, visit:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/roc

News Media Contacts

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

2026-008

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What’s Up: February 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA

The Moon readies for Artemis II, Orion shines bright, and a planetary parade marches across the night sky

NASA’s Artemis II mission has its first opportunity to launch to the moon, Orion the Hunter takes center stage, and a planetary parade marches across the night sky.

Skywatching Highlights

• Feb: Artemis II launch window opens.

• Feb: Orion the Hunter ideal viewing

• Mid-Late Feb: Planetary Parade

Transcript

The Moon could have human visitors for the first time since 1972, the constellation Orion will be clear to see, and a planetary parade will sparkle across the skies.

That’s What’s Up, this February.

The Moon could have some visitors soon!

NASA’s Artemis II mission will send astronauts to fly around the Moon. The first opportunities for launch are this February.

This mission will pave the way for Artemis III, which will be the first time we’ve sent humans to the lunar surface since the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972.

So this month, look up to the Moon shining bright in the night sky and there might be somebody looking back down at you.

Can you spot Orion the Hunter in the night sky?

You might be able to see the line of three stars that make up Orion’s Belt, but that belt is a part of a larger constellation called Orion, named for the hunter in Greek mythology.

Above Orion’s belt, the hunter’s right shoulder is actually Betelgeuse (or Alpha Orionis), one of the brightest stars in the night sky!

Most visible in the winter, February is one of the clearest times to see Orion in the sky.

From dusk through the night, look to the southern sky and try and spot the hunter for yourself.

A planetary parade will march across the sky this month!

Mid-February, Saturn will drop down toward the horizon as Venus and Mercury climb upward in the sky, meeting together in the west to southwestern sky.

Jupiter will find itself high in the sky.

And even Uranus, found in the southern sky, and Neptune, found nearby Saturn, will join the parade—though you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to spot these two far-off planets.

The planets will be visible soon after sunset throughout the month of February, but they’ll be lined up best toward the end of the month.

So, go outside and see how many planets you can find!

Here are the phases of the Moon for February.

You can stay up to date on all of NASA’s missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

I’m Chelsea Gohd from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s What’s Up for this month.

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Preparing for Artemis II: Training for a Mission Around the Moon

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Preparing for Artemis II: Training for a Mission Around the Moon

Four astronauts will soon travel beyond low Earth orbit and fly around the Moon on Artemis II, a mission that will test NASA’s systems and hardware for human exploration of deep space. 

Since June 2023, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen have been preparing for their lunar journey. The approximately 10-day mission will test the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew, while requiring the quartet to operate with greater autonomy and make critical decisions far from Earth.

Training for Artemis II is all risk mitigation. By preparing the astronauts and flight controllers for what they might encounter, we enable mission success.

Artemis II Chief Training Officer

Jacki Mahaffey

Unlike missions to the International Space Station, Artemis II offers no nearby safe harbor and no option to be back on Earth within hours of a problem. Training reflects that reality. Crews are prepared not just to follow procedures, but to understand spacecraft systems well enough to adapt when conditions change. 

Training began with mission fundamentals, including how Orion and SLS systems function individually and together. From there, the crew progressed through phases of training that moved from routine on-orbit operations to more complex mission segments such as ascent, entry, and landing. Each phase builds on the last as the crew moves closer to flight. 

In parallel, astronauts trained in medical operations, exercise systems, spacesuits, and daily life aboard Orion. Together, these elements form a single, integrated mission timeline. 

Observing the Moon Through the Lens 

A key part of Artemis II training includes lunar observation and photography. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, astronauts studied the Moon’s far side, learning to identify crater shapes, surface textures, color variations, and reflectivity. 

Although Artemis II will not land on the Moon, the crew will conduct detailed observations from lunar orbit to prepare for future Artemis missions.  

Flight Training at Ellington Field 

In addition to classroom instruction and simulations, the Artemis II crew trains in T-38 jet aircraft at Johnson’s Ellington Field. The T-38 exposes astronauts to high-workload, dynamic flight conditions that build spatial awareness and adaptability, skills that translate directly to decision-making under pressure in spaceflight.  

Protecting Crew Health in Deep Space 

The crew donned their Orion Crew Survival System spacesuits during training to support testing of Orion’s environmental control and life support systems. The suit provides pressure, oxygen, and thermal protection during launch, entry, and contingency scenarios while Orion’s life support systems manage cabin oxygen, water, temperature, and overall crew health throughout the mission. 

Mastering Orion Systems and Simulations 

Inside the Orion Mission Simulator at Johnson, the crew rehearsed every phase of the mission, from routine operations to emergency response. Simulations are designed to teach astronauts how to diagnose failures, manage competing priorities, and make decisions with delayed communication from Earth. 

Through this process, the quartet learned every aspect of the Orion crew module’s interior, including how to navigate onboard displays and execute the procedures used to fly and monitor the spacecraft. 

Science Preparation and Geology Training

While Artemis II astronauts will not land on the Moon, the geology fundamentals they develop during field training in remote environments are critical to meeting the mission’s science objectives. 

During the mission, the crew will examine a targeted set of surface features, including craters and regolith, from orbit. Astronauts will document variations in color, reflectivity, and texture to help scientists interpret geologic history. 

Preparing for Splashdown and Recovery 

The mission will conclude when the Artemis II mission splashes down.

The crew worked through splashdown and recovery operations at the agency’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. They rehearsed how to exit the Orion spacecraft safely in different scenarios, stabilize the spacecraft, and board a raft – skills they will rely on after returning from their mission around the Moon. 

The Crew is Go for Launch 

The Artemis II crew also completed integrated ground systems tests at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These included suited tests, full mission rehearsals, and launch-day dry runs that walked astronauts through every step, from traveling to the launch pad to entering Orion at Launch Pad 39B. 

As Artemis II moves closer to launch, the focus shifts from preparation to readiness as the crew enters the next era of exploration beyond low Earth orbit.  

About the Author

Sumer Loggins

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Goldstone’s DSS-15 Antenna and the Milky Way

Deep Space Station 15, one of the 112-foot antennas at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, looks skyward, with the stars of the Milky Way overhead, in September 2025. Goldstone is part of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which operates three complexes around the globe that support communications with dozens of deep space missions.

The DSN is NASA’s international array of giant radio antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions, plus a few that orbit Earth. The DSN also provides radar and radio astronomy observations that improve our understanding of the solar system and the larger universe.

Through Artemis, NASA is establishing an enduring presence in space and exploring more of the Moon than ever before. To achieve this, Artemis missions rely on both the Deep Space Network and the Near Space Network. These networks, with oversight by NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program office, use global infrastructure and relay satellites to ensure seamless communications and tracking as Orion launches, orbits Earth, travels to the Moon, and returns home.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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