ABSTRACT
In the face of scientific uncertainty and international concern, the US has proposed a major scientific research program. The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is a key component of President George Bush's approach to maintaining US leadership in protecting the global environment. The larger component is Earth Observing System (EOS), and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA) major contribution to the USGCRP. It is intended to acquire and assemble a global database over a fifteen-year period. Earth Probes provides a collection of environmental sensing missions, generally focused on observing specific Earth processes. The related NASA initiative, Earth Probes, will examine specific Earth processes using smaller platforms or different orbits from EOS. EOS Data and Information System will have to build on the experience gained in some NASA centers, in data centers operated by other agencies, and in some research-group data centers.
