Building Foresight for Earth Science, featuring Lindsey Jacobson

NASA’s Earth-observing satellite missions track various features of a changing planet over time. Sustaining that record requires careful planning for potential disruptions, and Lindsey Jacobson, a Pathways intern at NASA’s Langley Research Center, helps the Earth Science Division anticipate these issues through the NESSIE team. Jacobson’s role involves developing analysis tools that provide foresight into potential mission delays, on-orbit events, or schedule changes that could create gaps in critical data.

Just as homeowners prepare for hurricane season by stockpiling storm shutters and sandbags, NESSIE’s proactive approach ensures that NASA’s senior leadership has options to manage disruptions before they occur. Jacobson’s work supports the Earth science satellite portfolio, which includes dozens of missions measuring features like clouds, sea levels, and land cover.

The team’s goal is to provide end users with the data products they rely on, navigating uncertainties in mission lifetimes and on-orbit events. By building foresight into their strategies, Jacobson helps NASA deliver data to end users even when faced with unexpected changes, much like modifying an existing infrastructure rather than starting from scratch.