NASA Open Science Training offers free online learning opportunities for researchers, students, managers and professionals interested in open research. The programme includes Open Science Essentials, a two-hour introductory course, and Open Science 101, a comprehensive five-module course covering open data, open code, collaboration, ethics and research best practices.
Background & Programme Description
NASA is expanding access to training designed to help researchers make scientific work more transparent, accessible and impactful through open science practices.
The NASA Open Science Training programme provides publicly available online courses covering the principles, tools and practical approaches needed to conduct open research. According to NASA, the training is designed for researchers and managers across disciplines and is also available to NASA’s internal workforce.
Two main learning options are available: Open Science Essentials and Open Science 101. Both courses can be completed online and at the learner’s own pace.
Successful learners are eligible to receive a digital badge and certificate, providing a way to demonstrate their completion of the training.
What Is NASA Open Science Training?
NASA describes open science as a collaborative culture enabled by technology that promotes the sharing of data, information and knowledge within the scientific community and with the wider public.
The training introduces learners to practical concepts such as:
- Open data
- Open-source software
- Open research results
- Open peer review
- Collaborative research
- FAIR principles
- Open licensing
- Research repositories
- Version control
- Preregistration
- Ethical research practices
- The role of artificial intelligence in open science
These concepts are increasingly relevant to researchers who want their work to be easier to discover, reproduce, assess and build upon.
Open Science Essentials
Open Science Essentials is the shorter of the two courses and takes approximately two hours to complete.
It is designed as a high-level introduction for learners who want to understand the fundamentals of open science without committing to a longer programme.
NASA states that the course covers five main areas.
Lesson 1: Understanding Open Science
Learners are introduced to the meaning of open science and explore its potential benefits for research and scientific collaboration.
Lesson 2: Challenges and Barriers
The course examines some of the obstacles researchers may encounter when adopting open science practices.
Topics include social and institutional barriers, concerns about being “scooped” and data ethics.
Lesson 3: Open Science Framework
Learners explore the standard framework for open science, including:
- Open science workflows
- FAIR principles
- Open Science and Data Management Plans
- Project roles
Lesson 4: Open Research
The course introduces important components of open research, including:
- Open data
- Open-source software
- Open results
Lesson 5: Practical Tools
Learners are introduced to practical tools and approaches such as persistent identifiers, repositories, open licensing, version control and preregistration.
The lesson also addresses the role of AI in open science.
Open Science 101
For learners who want a more comprehensive introduction, NASA also offers Open Science 101.
The course consists of five modules and takes approximately 12 hours to complete.
It moves beyond basic concepts and focuses more heavily on practical implementation, ethics and best practices.
Module 1: Open Science Fundamentals
The first module explores what open science is, current practices, benefits and challenges.
Module 2: Essential Open Science Practices
Learners examine the fundamentals of open science, including the “Use, Make, Share” framework, FAIR principles and essential tools.
Module 3: Open Data
The third module focuses on practical approaches for finding, assessing, creating and sharing open data.
This can help researchers understand how data can be responsibly incorporated into open research workflows.
Module 4: Open Code
Learners explore approaches to using, creating and sharing open code throughout the software development lifecycle.
The module again uses the “Use, Make, Share” framework to structure the learning experience.
Module 5: Open Results and Collaboration
The final module focuses on scientific collaboration and the responsible sharing of research results.
Topics include:
- Developing ethical contributor guidelines
- Discovering and assessing open results
- Publishing and crediting contributions
- Scientific collaboration
- Open Science and Data Management Plans
Who Can Take the Courses?
The NASA information states that both courses are available to the public as well as NASA’s internal workforce.
This makes the training potentially useful for:
- University students
- Researchers
- Graduate students
- Early-career scientists
- Research managers
- Academic professionals
- Data professionals
- Scientists working across different disciplines
There is no indication in the supplied NASA information that learners must be NASA employees to access the public versions of the courses.
How to Enroll
External learners can register for the Open Science Essentials course through NASA’s STEM Gateway learning platform.
After creating an account and enrolling, learners can complete the course at their own pace. NASA states that course progress is saved between sessions.
For the more comprehensive programme, learners can access the Open Science 101 course through the same NASA learning platform.
The official course pages provide the relevant enrollment and course information.
Certificate and Digital Badge
One useful feature of the NASA Open Science Training programme is the opportunity to demonstrate course completion.
NASA states that learners who successfully complete the training are eligible to receive a digital badge and certificate.
For students and early-career researchers, this can provide evidence of additional professional development in areas such as research transparency, data management, open research and scientific collaboration.
However, the supplied information does not state that the training constitutes an academic degree or formal university qualification.
Why Open Science Skills Matter
Modern research increasingly involves large datasets, digital tools, software, collaborative platforms and international research teams.
Understanding how to responsibly manage and share research outputs can therefore be valuable across many scientific disciplines.
NASA’s training approaches open science not simply as a publishing concept but as a broader research culture involving data, code, collaboration, results and ethical practices.
The inclusion of topics such as FAIR principles, version control, open licensing and AI also makes the courses relevant to researchers working in increasingly digital research environments.
NASA Open Science Training at a Glance
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Provider | NASA |
| Programme | Open Science Training |
| Courses | Open Science Essentials and Open Science 101 |
| Format | Online |
| Availability | Public and NASA workforce |
| Open Science Essentials | Approximately 2 hours |
| Open Science 101 | Approximately 12 hours |
| Certificate | Available upon successful completion |
| Digital badge | Available upon successful completion |
| Main topics | Open data, open code, open results, FAIR principles, collaboration, ethics and research tools |
| Learning pace | Self-paced for the public course described by NASA |
Final Thoughts
The NASA Open Science Training 2026 provides an accessible way for students, researchers and professionals to develop practical knowledge of open research practices.
Those looking for a short introduction can start with Open Science Essentials, while learners seeking a deeper understanding can choose Open Science 101.
Because NASA makes the public training available online and provides a certificate and digital badge following successful completion, the programme can be a useful professional-development addition for researchers interested in transparent, collaborative and responsible research.
For the most accurate enrollment information, prospective learners should use NASA’s official Open Science Training pages, as course access and registration details can change.
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