Science: European Space Agency (ESA) Adopts Open Access Policy (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) For Images, Videos and Data

From the European Space Agency (ESA):

ESA today announced it has adopted an Open Access policy for its content such as still images, videos and selected sets of data.
For more than two decades, ESA has been sharing vast amounts of information, imagery and data with scientists, industry, media and the public at large via digital platforms such as the web and social media. ESA’s evolving information management policy increases these opportunities.
In particular, a new Open Access policy for ESA’s information and data will now facilitate broadest use and reuse of the material for the general public, media, the educational sector, partners and anybody else seeking to utilise and build upon it.
“This evolution in opening access to ESA’s images, information and knowledge is an important element of our goal to inform, innovate, interact and inspire in the Space 4.0 landscape,” said Jan Woerner, ESA Director General.
“It logically follows the free and open data policies we have already established and accounts for the increasing interest of the general public, giving more insight to the taxpayers in the member states who fund the Agency.”
In conjunction with many other intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) such as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Health Organisation, who have recently adopted similar Open Access policies, ESA has decided to release more contents under the Creative Commons IGO licencing scheme, with the Open Access compliant Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO or, in short, licence as the standard.

Read the Complete Announcement
Two of the Many Databases ESA Provides Online

• ESA Space in Images Database

• ESA Space in Videos Database

Filed under: Data Files, Management and Leadership, News, Open Access