Agencies have a lot of data but often lack the resources to develop the APIs need to make it widely available, but through its International Space Apps Challenges, NASA got nearly 9,000 developers to work on 671 projects, leading to the release of public APIs, notes Dr. William Brantly, an OPM program analysts in his API Briefing series on DigitalGov.gov.
Brantly notes that NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System alone has generated enough information to fill the Library of Congress, while the Solar Dynamics Observatory receives 1.5 terabytes of data a day.
The apps challenge in 2012 and 2013 produced the Predict the Sky API, combining weather data with tracking data of space objects to help developers create apps where users can find the best time and viewing conditions to observe the International Space Station, for example.
Another API opens weather data transmitted by the Curiosity Rover (Mars) and other data and allows developers to create Martian weather maps, according to Brantly. He noted that the API uses the popular Django REST Framework (http://www.django-rest-framework.org/).
Link: http://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/08/27/the-api-briefing-mining-the-rich-data-resources-of-nasa-the-international-space-apps-challenges/
