Open space data and space exploration
Open space data can benefit space research, but also non-profit causes and businesses, as the world looks forward to new developments in space exploration.
Open space datasets have been growing in numbers due to falling costs of (data gained from) satellites since the last three years. The launch costs of satellites is declining and the capacity of satellites (Gbps to Tbps) has increased during the past years. More organisations and businesses now have access to a satellite and (open) data from satellites. Global events show the possibilities of open space data as the interest of the international public and private organisations is growing. For example, the United Nations (UN) organises a yearly World Space Week in October. Last year, the UN highlighted the findings and results gained from open space data from satellites.
Open space data and big data can accelerate space research. At the same time, open space data can also provide a lot of information and knowledge for businesses or causes that are not directly related to space. For example, open space data can be used to monitor the health of forests in developing countries and can provide information on agriculture and transport (e.g. through geospatial data).
Open space data is especially relevant now as the launch of the SpaceX Falcon rocket and Dragon crew capsule gave way for a new era of space exploration, in which astronauts have been sent into space under a public-private partnership set up by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA also has an open data portal, provides open APIs to developers, and organises open (online) events for developers, coders, and space enthusiasts.
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