What are the advantages of using data from the Earthdata Cloud?

1) Improved performance: Quick access and subsetting of a large volume of data compared to data and services on-premises.

2) Multiple data access methods: In addition to existing LAADS DAAC data access methods, a new way to access data, S3 access, is available to users in the AWS us-west-2 region. 

3) Multidisciplinary data access: Find multidisciplinary NASA data from multiple DAACs in one place, the Earthdata Cloud.

4) Analysis next to data: Users in the AWS us-west-2 region can import their algorithms and processing software and work directly with NASA data in the cloud, expediting science discovery. Note that users are responsible for procuring their own cloud computing resources.

5) Expanded services: Expanded services, such as CMR-STAC, Harmony, and Zarr creation will be available to users in the future.*

What is S3 access?

Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) is an object storage service that offers scalability, data availability, security, and performance. S3 access is a way of accessing AWS cloud data from S3 storage using cloud native tools.

S3 access (also referred to as "direct S3 access") is only available to users in the same cloud region as LAADS DAAC data (AWS us-west-2).

Access to LAADS DAAC cloud data on S3 is described in the How-To section.

I am a user with a cloud account, how can I find out which LAADS DAAC datasets are available for direct S3 access in the Earthdata Cloud?

The LAADS DAAC Migration Status Section describes the LAADS DAAC phased dataset projected release dates.

You may also explore LAADS DAAC data through the Earthdata Search portal by filtering. To filter for LAADS DAAC Data in the Cloud, in the left panel under Organizations, select Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System (LAADS) and under Features, select Available from AWS Cloud.

Step-by-step instructions for obtaining the S3 bucket URL for a LAADS DAAC collection from Earthdata Search are found in the How To section.

I am a user with a cloud account, how can I access LAADS DAAC data in the Earthdata Cloud?

LAADS data stored in the Earthdata Cloud can be accessed via S3 buckets.

Users in the AWS us-west-2 region may use "S3 buckets" (bins of files, called objects) to access Earthdata Cloud data from S3 storage using cloud native tools. S3 access allows users to use Python and other language libraries to explicitly access files (or portions of files) in the LAADS DAAC cloud archive, list the contents of the bucket, and also interrogate and interact with cloud-native formats.

You will need a URL path to the specific LAADS DAAC collection you would like to access using S3. The structure for an S3 URL looks like:

s3://prod-lads/MOD021KM/MOD021KM.A2000055.0000.061.2017171194852.hdf

An example of an S3 URL for a LAADS DAAC collection is: s3://prod-lads/MOD021KM/

To learn more, please refer to What is S3 access?

Can I access data in AWS regions outside of my geographic location? 

Yes. The AWS region refers to the location of servers, which are accessible via the internet regardless of a user's physical location.

How do I obtain credentials to access LAADS DAAC data in S3 storage?

You will need to pass credentials and configuration to AWS in order to interact with S3 objects. 

The How-To S3 Direct Access Section describes this process.

I want to perform direct S3 access in a cloud environment, do I still need my Earthdata Login?

Yes, you will still need to store your Earthdata Login credentials in your cloud environment. In order to access LAADS DAAC data, an Earthdata Login account is required. If you do not have an Earthdata Login, follow the steps listed here to obtain one.

A short tutorial on how to store your Earthdata Login credentials is found in How to S3 Direct Access.