NASA's Scientific Visualization Study: Putting Data in Its Space

Dr. Horace Mitchell
Lead, Scientific Visualization Studio Group
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Visualization plays a vital role in science, whether it is a mental image of a physical process, a graph of observations, or an animation of a time-dependent simulation. As visual beings, we communicate with visuals to enhance understanding, and the modern world of online communication and entertainment makes visual communication mandatory in the competition for attention and relevance. The NASA Space Act of 1958 stated: “NASA shall provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof.” NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) has been creating data visualizations to communicate NASA’s research for the last 30 years, with remarkable success. I will discuss the work of the SVS, the technologies and practices of a working data visualization group, and the people and partnerships that allow us to create and disseminate our best visualizations (and I will show a lot of great examples).