LIMA: NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program has released a quality assessment report evaluating the Polar Geospatial Center's EarthDEM product. The report, issued on August 8, 2026, examines the horizontal and vertical accuracy of the EarthDEM Strip DSM and Mosaic Tile products, comparing them to airborne lidar data. The findings assist NASA program management and the user community in determining the suitability of these Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) for NASA science missions. The CSDA program was created to assess and acquire data from commercial sources that can aid NASA's Earth science research.
The report highlights the potential of commercial satellite constellations in enhancing Earth System Science and applications development. EarthDEM data, derived from Vantor satellite imagery, provides a cost-effective means to complement NASA's own Earth observations. 's authors, "it should be noted that the PGC EarthDEM product is not technically a commercial product…. EarthDEM is a digital elevation dataset derived from imagery collected from the Vantor (formerly Maxar) fleet of optical satellites," they said. The assessment's implications are significant for Earth science research, as it confirms the use of EarthDEM data, provided its characteristics align with specific scientific objectives.
The report supports the integration of commercial data into NASA's research portfolio, highlighting the role of commercial satellites in advancing Earth science and societal benefits.
