The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently signed an enterprise license agreement (ELA) with Esri, making ArcGIS software tools available for unlimited use by authorized NASA employees and contractors.
The agreement reflects NASA's extensive and growing use of Esri's ArcGIS software to bring geospatial intelligence to a wide variety of mission-critical efforts, from streamlining operations to enabling research and exploration.
"NASA is one of the most innovative users of geographic information system technology," says Esri president Jack Dangermond. "NASA has demonstrated the power of geospatial thinking by applying GIS to a wide variety of areas to solve problems and advance understanding of our world and the universe."
GIS plays a key role in NASA's earth science research initiatives, which involve global efforts to monitor and study the factors of climate change. Esri technology supports collaboration between NASA and other organizations worldwide by providing a strong platform for sharing and analyzing geospatial data.
"GIS increases our understanding of the world around us through the visualization of information," says Stennis Space Center environmental GIS lead Kelly Boyd. "Esri's ArcGIS platform provides the tools to leverage this understanding each day to inform decisions in our work."
The NASA Langley Research Center pioneered the use of GIS in facilities management to reorganize its 800-acre campus to cut costs while fully supporting existing activities, a move that could save hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years for NASA and other facilities.
For more information about Esri government ELAs, visit esri.com/ela.
