Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG)
A coordinated approach to identify and communicate Federal Earth observation satellite needs.
About the SNWG
Through the White House National Science and Technology Council’s U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO), the SNWG partners with Federal agencies to identify high-priority sustained and unmet needs for satellite Earth observations. The SNWG conducts a biennial survey to formally document and communicate satellite Earth-observing needs to NASA and other space-based Earth observation providers.
Satellite Needs Survey
The Satellite Needs Survey obtains information about key Federal agency objectives that require the application of satellite Earth observations, as well as specific measurement requirements. The survey is conducted to identify potential data gaps in the current NASA program of record and existing data resources that meet agency needs.
Previous surveys have resulted in new data products and investments to support agency missions, such as:
- Harmonization of data sets from Landsat and Sentinel-2 (operational)
- Multi-satellite products for surface water extent, surface disturbance/change detection, and surface deformation (in development)
- ICESat-2 Quick Look products (operational)
- Enhanced downlink bandwidth for the NISAR mission (in development)
- Expanded access for Federal agencies to commercial data purchased and evaluated by NASA (operational)
The following activities were selected from the 2020 SNWG assessment, and formulation activities are anticipated to begin in FY23:
- Global Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 derived vegetation indices suite
- Air quality forecasts and distributed Pandora sensors
- Merged GNSS-RO/atmospheric sounder measurements for planetary boundary layer products
- Sea ice from sea surface salinity
- TEMPO/GOES Near Real-Time and Enhanced Products (TBD, in discussion with NOAA)
Process and Timeline
The Satellite Needs Survey will open on June 1, 2022 and close on July 22, 2022. Internal agency deadlines for submission will vary, with some agencies initiating internal review before July 22, 2022. Survey respondents are encouraged to communicate with their agency’s SNWG representative regarding agency-specific timelines.
Links to SNWG 2022 presentations:
SNWG June 1, 2022 kickoff presentation
NASA June 1, 2022 kickoff presentation
The SNWG will compile submitted user agency inputs and provide an informational copy to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prior to formal submission to USGEO. USGEO will then acknowledge the user agency inputs and formally submit its compilation inputs to NASA, which will analyze the user agency inputs in reference to current and future satellite plans and capabilities.
Survey Link
Survey Access
To request access to the SNWG 2022 survey, please click the "Request Access" button below and enter your full name, work email address, and organization to submit the request. The organization representative as well as yourself will receive a copy of this request. Upon approval, you will receive an email notifying you that your access has been granted along with a link to the survey.
Once access is granted, enter your work email address to receive a one-time-code via email to login to the SNWG survey portal.
If you have any issues gaining access to the survey, please email the SNWG Survey team (gs-css-edc_snwg_survey@usgs.gov). Please include a brief summary of the issue and attach screenshots of any error messages.
Contact
If you have any questions, please send them to your SNWG Agency Representative.
You may also contact the SNWG Co-Chairs, (Shaima Nasiri, Shaima.Nasiri@science.doe.gov and Rick Mueller,rick.mueller@usda.gov)
or the NASA SNWG principal (Gerald Bawden, Gerald.Bawden@nasa.gov).
| Organization | Representative | |
|---|---|---|
| DOE, Office of Science | Shaima Nasiri | shaima.nasiri@science.doe.gov |
| USDA | Rick Mueller | rick.mueller@usda.gov |
| DOC, NOAA | Flavio Iturbide-Sanchez | flavio.iturbide@noaa.gov |
| DOC, NOAA | Jason Taylor | jason.taylor@noaa.gov |
| DOC, Census | Pete Reid | peter.reid@census.gov |
| DOC, NIST | Steve Maxwell | stephen.maxwell@nist.gov |
| DOE, EERE | Shannon Davis | shannon.davis@ee.doe.gov |
| DHS | Lee "Pepper" Spaulding | Lee.spaulding@hq.dhs.gov |
| USDA | Kevin Hunt | kevin.hunt3@usda.gov |
| EPA | Jim Szykman | szykman.jim@epa.gov |
| NASA | Kevin Murphy | kevin.j.murphy@nasa.gov |
| NASA | Gerald Bawden | gerald.bawden@nasa.gov |
| State | Fernando Echavarria | echavarriafr@state.gov |
| USAID | Kevin Horn | khorn@usaid.gov |
| USAID | Michael Crino | mcrino@usaid.gov |
| DOI, USGS | Greg Snyder | gsnyder@usgs.gov |
| NSF | Greg Anderson | greander@nsf.gov |
| NSF | Allen Pope | apope@nsf.gov |