ASTER Pricing Policy

Update: As of April 1, 2016 all ASTER Data are available at no charge.

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NASA has directed the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS) to revise the ASTER Pricing Policy for ASTER Level 1A, Level 1B, Level 2, and Level 3 (ASTER DEM) data products.

Therefore, on January 25, 2006, the LP DAAC began charging $80 (US) per granule (scene) for FTP-Pull orders and Level 3 (ASTER DEM) products, with the exception of the ASTER DEM and Orthorectified (DMO) product, which is $160 (US) per granule. ASTER pricing on DVD media is $91 (US) per granule. The ASTER DEM and Orthorectified (DMO) product is $182 (US) per granule. All media orders are assessed a $5 (US) handling fee, and international orders will be subject to a $20 (US) shipping fee. The LP DAAC continues to offer ASTER Data Pool holdings at no charge. Please see the tables below for details.

ASTER Pricing Policy Caveats

Pricing Transition

The new pricing policy began January 25, 2006.

ASTER Data Available at No Cost

• ASTER data are provided at no cost to current NASA-funded researchers and affiliated users. Investigators who receive funds directly from NASA through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement are eligible to receive the data without charge. Affiliated usersincluding researchers who receive NASA research funds through a third party, researchers from interagency and international partners affiliated with NASA through joint projects, and education users (including NASA-sponsored and non-NASA-sponsored)should contact LP DAAC User Services to submit a request for access to data without distribution charge.

NASA's Office of Earth Science maintains the list of researchers authorized to receive ASTER data without charge and provides those names to the Land Processes DAAC at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS).

IMPORTANT: Redistribution of ASTER data obtained through this NASA no cost agreement is limited by certain restrictions. Researchers and educators may only redistribute these data to other researchers and educators. These data may not be redistributed to the general public or others not fitting the criteria stated above. Users not complying with this policy will be billed for all data received at no cost and will be subject to loss of their privilege to obtain any additional ASTER data at no cost.

• NASA-funded researchers receive funds directly from NASA through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. Affiliated users fall into one of three categories:Researchers who receive NASA research funds through a third partyResearchers from interagency and international partners affiliated with NASA through joint projectsEducational users including both NASA-sponsored and non-NASA-sponsored
  • Researchers who receive NASA research funds through a third party
  • Researchers from interagency and international partners affiliated with NASA through joint projects
  • Educational users including both NASA-sponsored and non-NASA-sponsored
• The LP DAAC Data Pool is a direct access mechanism allowing all users to download through FTP ASTER L1B data without charge. The ASTER Data Pool contribution is the Level-1B product over the United States and Territories. These data are populated on a two-year rolling archive basis. This means that an ASTER L1B data set older than 2 years (730 days since its acquisition) is removed from the Data Pool. IMPORTANT: Refunds cannot be provided for purchased data now available in the Data Pool.

LP DAAC Product Return Policy

Customers are entitled to exchanges or refunds for faulty products for a period of 60 days from the date of shipment. Returned products must be accompanied by a copy of the shipping summary and a letter describing in detail the reason for the return. Refunds cannot be provided for purchased data that are available at no charge in the Data Poolplease check the Data Pool before ordering if your area of interest is within the United States and U. S. Territories. Questions regarding this procedure should be directed to the LP DAAC User Services by phone at 605-594-6116 or by e-mail: LPDAAC@usgs.gov.