NASA's CosmicDS project, led by Harvard University, is preparing educators and young people to conduct local research using real air quality data through the TEMPO-Lab tool. At the BEST AQI Leadership Institute held from July 27-29, 2026, 13 educators worked on real-world air quality scenarios using TEMPO-Lab. These scenarios will help young people investigate air quality in their own communities and develop action plans on the subject.
TEMPO-Lab allows the analysis of near real-time air quality measurements from NASA's TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission. During the institute, TEMPO scientist Heesung Chong provided information on a new beta version of a tropospheric ozone data product during a scientific briefing. Thanks to the flexible design of TEMPO-Lab, CosmicDS software developer John Lewis integrated the new data product into the tool in one night. This demonstrates that CosmicDS's data tools can keep up with the pace of active NASA science.
The CosmicDS team will continue to support these efforts in the coming year.