When you generate and collect as much data as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) does, finding just the right data set for a research project can be a problem. With seven operating centers, nine research facilities, and more than 18,000 staff, the agency continually generates an overwhelming amount of data, which it stores in more than 30 science data repositories across five topical areas — astrophysics, heliophysics, biological science, physical science, earth science, and planetary science. Overall, the agency houses more than 88,000 datasets and 715,000 documents a…