Free Science: NASA Just Opened Its Entire Research Library to the Public

NASA is opening up its research library to the public in the newly launched web database PubSpace…and it’s absolutely free.

NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan believes that this move will benefit fellow scientists and engineers and accelerate innovation. “Making our research data easier to access will greatly magnify the impact of our research,” she said. “As scientists and engineers, we work by building upon a foundation laid by others.”

From here on out, any NASA-funded research articles in peer-reviewed journals must comply to its new policy. This requires that papers be published and uploaded to the portal within one year of publication so that they are freely accessible to anyone. The only exception is studies that involve patents and material governed by personal privacy, proprietary, or security laws.

“At NASA, we are celebrating this opportunity to extend access to our extensive portfolio of scientific and technical publications,” NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman says in a press release. “Through open access and innovation we invite the global community to join us in exploring Earth, air, and space.”