NASA-Funded Research Now Available Online For Free

NASA once again opened its research archive to the public for free. This means that students, private space companies, medical and climate change experts as well as the general public will have access to tons of NASA-funded research.

This is not the first time that NASA released a part of their information treasure trove to public domain. Last May, this year, NASA also put some of its databases into public domain that was greatly appreciated by the public.

"At NASA, we are celebrating this opportunity to extend access to our extensive portfolio of scientific and technical publications. Through open access and innovation, we invite the global community to join us in exploring the Earth, air and space," NASA deputy administrator Dava Newman said in a statement.

Recently, the agency launched an online archive that houses its journal about the researchers it has funded over the years. The online portal is called PubSpace, and this paved the way for easier access to research and information that are usually not accessible to public even to those with journal subscriptions. Aside from that, PubSpace will make data available for NASA-funded research since the site was launched.

"Beginning with research funded in 2016, all NASA-funded authors and co-authors (both civil servant and non-civil servant) will be required to deposit copies of their peer-reviewed scientific publications and associated data into NASA's publication repository called NASA PubSpace," a NASA official said in a statement.

NASA PubSpace will be managed by the National Institute of Health as part of its own PubMed Central database, according to the Verge. NASA's move to release some of its databases is still part of the Open Science move, a request done by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"Making our research data easier to access will greatly magnify the impact of our research," NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan said in a statement. "As scientists and engineers, we work by building upon a foundation laid by others," Stofan added.

NASA said that the PubSpace will be fully operation in the fall of 2016.