Making NASA Data Easier to Use: Data Product Standardization for NASA's EOS Aura Mission

The four instruments, HIRDLS, MLS, OMI and TES, aboard NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite will make important contributions to atmospheric chemistry and climate change research. To promote cross-platform synergy and to make the data easier to use in general, the Aura instrument teams are standardizing their Level 2 data products as much as possible. While the Hierarchical Data Format for EOS (HDF-EOS) constrains HDF with its POINT, SWATH and GRID implementations, it is still possible to create two files that are completely different and would require dramatically different readers. By adhering to a more rigid standard, Aura instrument teams are attempting to aid satellite-wide data usability. An overview of the Aura HDF-EOS File Format Guidelines will be presented and the features that ease data use will be highlighted.