Enhancing Earth Science Insights: An Exclusive Interview with Lindsey Jacobson

The missions of NASA’s Earth-observing satellites are pivotal in monitoring various aspects of our ever-evolving planet, including aerosols, sea levels, land cover, and cloud cover over extended periods. Maintaining this crucial record for the scientific and operational communities that rely on it necessitates more than just engineering expertise; it demands strategic foresight to navigate an uncertain future. This involves anticipating potential mission delays or unforeseen events in orbit that could disrupt the flow of essential data.

Lindsey Jacobson plays a vital role in helping NASA foresee these disruptions in advance, providing senior leaders with options to manage them effectively. As a Pathways intern in engineering, Jacobson contributes to NASA’s Earth Science Division within the NASA Earth Science Strategic Integration Environment (NESSIE) team, which is part of the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate (SACD) at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Supporting Future Earth Science Initiatives

The Pathways programme connects undergraduate and postgraduate students with NASA centres through internships that may lead to full-time civil service roles upon satisfactory performance. Jacobson has returned to NASA Langley each summer since 2022, balancing her time between the centre and finalising her mechanical engineering dissertation at North Carolina State University.

“The way we do Earth science is changing,” Jacobson observes. The NESSIE team supports the diverse portfolio of Earth science satellites, each tasked with measuring specific planetary features such as clouds, sea surface temperatures, and land use. Their objective is to provide end-user communities with the data products they depend on, all while contending with the uncertainties that lie ahead.

Jacobson explains that, “There’s uncertainty about mission lifetimes and what could happen on orbit, and about schedules.” The work conducted by her team equips NASA’s senior leadership with the ability to navigate this uncertainty by identifying potential gaps in data coverage and exploring options to mitigate or hedge against them. By offering alternative strategies to fulfil end-user requirements, they assist senior leaders in managing a complex, interlinked portfolio of missions.

Building Foresight into Earth Observation

Within this framework, Jacobson’s primary focus is on developing analytical tools that enhance the team’s “foresight ability.” She elaborates, “It’s the ability to anticipate different scenarios that may unfold — changes that might occur across the portfolio of Earth-observing missions — and to have strategies ready to respond, ensuring we can continue to provide data to end users.”

Importantly, not all changes herald negative outcomes. Missions can sometimes exceed their intended operational lifespans, thereby offering opportunities to extend their utility. Regardless of whether a change is advantageous or otherwise, the core principle remains the same: be prepared with options before any situation arises.

Jacobson likens this preparedness to the measures one takes in anticipation of hurricane season. “You get the storm shutters, you buy the sandbags, and you have them pre-positioned,” she explains. “Then when the warning comes, you’re not scrambling, and you’re not at risk of the store selling out. You already have what you need in place.” The NESSIE team applies this same logic to the Earth-observing portfolio by pre-emptively assessing what a disruption could mean and having a range of responses prepared.

Adapting to a Changing Landscape

“We proactively suggest the strategies and alternatives that could be enacted if there’s a change,” Jacobson states. “We do that ahead of time, so people understand what options might exist.” This proactive approach mirrors her graduate research, which investigates how complex systems — such as infrastructures that cannot simply be dismantled and rebuilt, like the electric grid — must evolve thoughtfully instead. “We designed a grid, and now we live with that grid forever,” she reflects. “We can’t tear it down and build a new one. What we can do is modify, expand, and improve upon what we have.” This mindset informs her work at NASA, where she seeks to leverage existing resources rather than starting anew.

For many engineers entering NASA for the first time, the expectation may be that the most challenging aspect of the job lies in the technical domain. However, Jacobson discovered that the landscape itself demands the greatest adaptability. “The way we do Earth science is changing,” she remarks. The increasing contributions from commercial companies alongside governmental agencies, the emergence of new space agencies, and the continual introduction of innovative technologies and architectures all necessitate a keen understanding of how NASA’s capabilities are evolving and how best to serve the communities reliant on this data.

Embracing Innovation and Creativity

Some of this adaptability is evident in more subtle aspects, such as the burgeoning role of artificial intelligence tools in her team’s workflow. “Langley has done a lot of firsts,” Jacobson notes, echoing sentiments expressed by Trina Dyal, NASA Langley’s director, at a recent intern event. “And we want to continue to be the first. That means learning new things and figuring out how to integrate them into our work.”

In her downtime, Jacobson reflects on the impact of literature on her perspective. She recalls receiving a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Sirens of Titan” in high school, which she set aside for years before finally reading it during the pandemic. “It was very special. It touches a lot on the meaning of life, and that connects to some of the reasons I was motivated by space in the first place. The idea that space exploration can bring humanity together. That cosmic perspective,” she shares.

As part of the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center, Jacobson is at the forefront of integrating innovative solutions into Earth science initiatives. Her commitment to understanding and navigating the complexities of Earth observation not only serves the mission of NASA but also contributes to a broader understanding of how we can best monitor and respond to our planet’s changes.