Term: January 11th-April 16th, 2027
Application Deadline: October 9th, 2026
NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy builds the next generation of science and technology leaders by immersing student and early career scientists in projects using NASA data to address real-world challenges.
Building on Langley Research Center’s 25+ years of workforce development expertise, EarthRISE Developers Academy engages participants in short-term applied research projects. These center on developing innovative applied science solutions to help partners make more effective, efficient decisions. Through collaborative projects, professional development, and cooperation with state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners, the Academy equips participants with skills to accelerate innovation and bridge Earth science with the future of space exploration.
Who should apply? Applicants with demonstrated skills in Earth, environmental, and/or planetary sciences, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and/or computer science are encouraged to apply. The NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy is interdisciplinary and accepts participants with experience in a variety of fields and at different phases of their careers. This includes currently enrolled students, recent graduates, early career professionals, and transitioning career professionals. Successful participants are open-minded, interested in working with others, flexible, and eager to learn.
What is the NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy experience like? Participants work in a fast-paced and collaborative environment on interdisciplinary teams of 4 to 5 participants. Teams work on applied research projects that will help a partner organization use Earth observations to enhance their management decisions and workflows. The projects typically fall within one of the following NASA Earth Action thematic areas: Agriculture, Disasters, Ecological Conservation, Energy & Infrastructure, Health & Air Quality, Water Resources, and Wildland Fires.
The short-term research projects take place in spring, summer, and fall. Each project will include:
- A literature review on the scope, methodologies, and types of NASA remote sensing data applicable to the project;
- Use of GIS and remote-sensing data to create application solutions for the partners;
- A final presentation delivered to a variety of audiences; and
- A final technical report and end products.
Each project team works under the guidance of a project coordinator, science advisors and mentors, and the NASA Langley Research Center’s EarthRISE Office.
Why apply? NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy offers participants an opportunity to enhance their personal and professional development. The experience helps build skills in communication, presentation, research, collaboration, technical capabilities, and networking. The Academy also offers personality typing, team building, and interaction with scientists and partner organizations. The experience helps participants prepare for the needs and demands of today’s growing geospatial workforce.
What next? Interested candidates should take the following steps:
- Read the Application Guide Page in full.
- Review the Logistics and Projects Page. Information about the upcoming projects is included and may be updated throughout the application window.
- Follow the link at the top of the Application Guide Page to access the EarthRISE Developers Academy Application Portal. Read all instructions, and then begin your application.
Questions? Please refer to the FAQs Section. For answers not available there, contact the Langley EarthRISE Office at NASA-DL-ERDA@mail.nasa.gov.
Spring 2027 Projects
Spring 2027 projects will span a variety of topics and thematic areas including Water Resources, Disasters, Agriculture, Ecological Conservation, Lunar Resources, and more. All projects are tentative and subject to change; two projects at each location listed below. Project information will be updated throughout the application window, as available.
Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, CA):
- This project aims to measure soil moisture using NISAR and state level mesonet data in Oklahoma. Partnering with Oklahoma State University Extension and local farms, the team will create reliable satellite derived measurements for use by tribal partners and beginner farmer/rancher communities to determine timing of planting, irrigation, and other field operations.
- TBD Disasters
Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD):
- Changes in snowpack and water availability across the Colorado River Basin are of increasing concern for decision making organizations, including public utilities, industrial water users, and other basin partners. The team will assess snow drought, soil moisture, vegetation stress, and seasonal water availability across the basin to inform resilience planning, investment priorities, and partnership agendas.
- Severe weather in southeastern Pennsylvania frequently causes tree-related power outages, costing utilities millions in repairs. While PECO Energy Company utilizes expensive aerial LiDAR to monitor transmission lines, they currently underutilize freely available satellite data. This project will partner with PECO to integrate Sentinel-1 (SAR) and Sentinel-2 (optical) imagery to identify tall, dead, or encroaching tree canopies and create a scalable, cost-effective tool to monitor vegetation health along utility corridors, optimizing preventative maintenance and improving grid resilience.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA):
- Eelgrass, a species of submerged aquatic vegetation, provides a variety of ecosystem benefits such as carbon sequestration, sediment stabilization, and water clarification. This project will partner with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project to investigate water quality parameters to supplement ground survey data for continued monitoring of eelgrass habitat.
- TBD Water Resources
Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA):
- Agricultural management practices including row cropping and invasive species removal can impact soil moisture and water availability to crops. This project will partner with the Sandhill Area Research Association to identify and map the environmental response of various management practices to inform agricultural decision-making of farmers and ranchers in Texas.
- TBD
Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL):
- Seepage bogs are specialized wetland ecosystems sustained by slow groundwater discharge along gentle slopes. The Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA) actively monitors water table dynamics across a select number of seepage bogs to better understand their hydrological functioning and support the conservation of federally endangered plant species in northeast Alabama. This project will leverage all-weather, L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations from NISAR to map and monitor seepage bog hydrological regimes across Alabama, enhancing GSA’s capacity to identify potential suitable habitats and support the conservation of endemic, endangered pitcher plant populations.
- This project evaluates NISAR L- and S-band datasets across well-studied domestic sites in the United States that serve as terrestrial analogs to surface conditions and processes on the Moon and Mars. Because these analog sites feature radar scattering mechanisms dominated by surface roughness and dielectric properties rather than vegetative structure, they provide ideal sensitivity benchmarks. By characterizing baseline SAR backscatter and variance structures, and detecting subtle surface disruptions such as aeolian sediment transport, this work will establish a multi-frequency SAR signature library for planetary analog terrains. These benchmarks will directly inform NISAR data interpretation over geologically stable surfaces on Earth while advancing analytical readiness for future planetary radar missions that observe extraterrestrial surfaces without the benefit of in-situ validation.
Virtual:
- Wildfire smoke may impact corn and soybean yields of farms due to reduced solar radiation. This project will provide farmers across the Midwest region tools to make management decisions related to potential yield drags and market shifts.
- Working with the Missouri Department of Conservation, this project could focus on vegetation: mapping the timing and extent of forest health including oak decline, disease, & forest disturbance, invasive species, and/or grassland classification to identify high value wildlife habitats.
Important Dates
Spring 2027
- Application window: August 31 – October 9, 2026
- Recommendations due: October 23, 2026
- Notification window: November – December, 2026
- Term: January 11 – April 16, 2027
Eligibility Requirements
- At least 18 years of age by the start of the term
- Demonstrated experience and skills in Earth and environmental sciences, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and/or computer science
- U.S. citizenship or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status (required for all opportunities – in-person and virtual)
- Minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (either cumulative or most recent) from the current or most recent institution of higher learning
- Ability to work 25-29 hours per week for the entire term during regular business hours for each location (typically 9am – 5pm Monday through Thursday)
- For in-person opportunities: Participants must have the ability to provide personal transportation to and from the EarthRISE Developers Academy location
- For virtual opportunities: Participants must reside and work within the 50 U.S. states or Washington, D.C. for the entire term. Remote work from U.S. territories or outside the U.S. is not permitted.
Participant Classifications
Currently Enrolled Students: Students who are currently enrolled at a U.S. accredited community college, undergraduate or graduate college or university.
Must provide evidence of enrollment at an accredited U.S. school (acceptance letter or current unofficial transcripts).
Recent Graduates: Individuals who graduated with an undergraduate or graduate degree from a U.S. accredited college or university within the past two years.
Must provide evidence of successful graduation from a college or university (diploma or transcript showing graduation).
Early/Transitioning Career Professionals: Individuals who are pursuing further experience in the Earth sciences and remote sensing, transitioning to a new career field, and/or have at least two years of work experience in a professional environment (including transitioning/recently transitioned veterans from the U.S. Armed Forces).
Must provide transcripts from most recent college or university.
Application Checklist
The application process consists of the following sections:
- Profile
- Eligibility questions
- Application form
- Short essay questions
- Recommendation
- Voluntary information (optional)
Online Application Instructions
To submit an application, follow these steps:
- Click the link at the top of this Application Guide Page to open the online application.
- Select “Sign Up” to create a new user account or login if you are a returning user.
- New users will need to complete the applicant profile section. Select “Create a Profile to Get Started” and then select “Create Profile” to continue.
- Select the “Get Started” submission card to begin the eligibility confirmation process.
- Once you answer the eligibility questions, select “Mark Complete” at the bottom of the page, then select the green “Submit Eligibility” button at the top of the page to complete your eligibility.
- Select “View” on the eligibility section. If you meet the eligibility requirements, there will be a blue link at the bottom of the page that will take you to the applicant portal to complete your application.
- If you do not see a blue link at the bottom of the page, then you are not currently eligible and cannot continue.
- Select “Get Started” to start your draft application.
- Complete the application form and select “Mark Complete.”
- Complete the short essay questions and select “Mark Complete.”
- Complete the recommendation section by selecting “New Request” and adding contact information for at least two recommenders, preferably one from an academic and one from a professional source, and then select “Send.” If necessary, two academic or two professional recommendations are acceptable. Select the “Close” button once you enter your recommender information to return to the Homepage.
- Once an applicant enters their recommenders’ information and selects “Send,” the recommenders will receive an email with instructions on how to submit the online recommendation form. Note: The deadline for recommenders to submit the online recommendation form is two weeks after the application window closes.
- Complete the optional voluntary information section, if you choose.
- Once all sections are marked “Complete,” applicants must select the green “Submit” button at the top of the page to submit their completed application.
Important notes:
- Applicants will receive a confirmation email when a “Draft” application has been started and a final email once the application has been successfully “Submitted.”
- Applicants should save after each section to avoid losing progress.
- It is suggested to compose short essay responses on a separate document, and then copy and paste into the form.
- All applicants should review their entire application before submitting.
- You can re-access your draft application by logging in through the application portal.
- A link to the application portal is included in the email you receive once a draft application is started.
- The portal is also linked at the top of this Application Guide Page.
- Applicants missing recommendation form(s) after the recommendation deadline may not be considered.
- Once applications are submitted, they are accessible for review but not for revision.
- NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI- assisted tools to draft application responses. Any applicant found to have used AI or AI-assisted tools will be disqualified. These tools include, but are not limited to, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Late application submissions will not be reviewed or considered. There is no exception to this requirement.