NASA Has the Same Big Data Challenges That Companies Do

February 10, 2016

In the short amount of time it is taking you to read this sentence, NASA has gathered over 1.7 gigabytes of data from their missions. They are gathering data every minute of every hour, of every day, and their rate of collection continues to grow each year.

This task isn\’t easy for them either. Storing, handling and managing this data is a challenge. Analyzing it is out of this world (no pun intended). But NASA continues to do so, as they understand the importance of accessible data for their work, and for all of humankind. As leaders and innovators in the world of Big Data, they have accomplished a great deal.

It used to take hours, if not days for a flight operations team to relay collected data. Now, flight operations teams can view this data, using custom data visualizations, in real time. They are analyzing data that helps them learn more about our Planet Earth, how commercial airlines can fly more safely, and even led them to discover Water On Mars.

The difference between NASA and most other companies is their ability and capacity to store, manage and analyze the data. The NASA Center for Climate Simulation alone, has the capacity to store 37 petabytes of data. They have a high-resolution data visualization wall that is 17 feet high and 6 feet to display any of the in-house data. They have two different centers to process, distribute and archive their data; one for Earth science, and one for planetary science. Over 1,200 users across the country use the supercomputer, Pleiades to help them analyze this data.

We understand that not every company has the ability to store, process and analyze all the data they have access to. But, we also understand that if every company did have this ability, then their business would operate much more efficiently. We are no NASA, but we use data to provide our clients with the vital information, needed to make optimal business decisions. This is why some ask, “Is What We Do at Cliintel Rocket Science?”



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