A recent quality assessment report from NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program has analyzed the EarthDEM dataset provided by the Polar Geospatial Center (PGC). This evaluation serves to inform NASA leadership and the broader scientific community regarding the reliability of commercial Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) for Earth science applications.
Published on August 8, 2026, the CSDA *Polar Geospatial Center EarthDEM Quality Assessment Report* was authored by NASA Digital Elevation Model (DEM) subject matter experts. The study focused on evaluating the horizontal and vertical precision of two specific PGC EarthDEM products: the “Mosaic Tile” and “Strip” Digital Surface Models (DSMs).
To determine accuracy across diverse terrain, experts compared the EarthDEM Strip DSM and Mosaic Tile products against airborne lidar data samples collected in the United States and Senegal. The assessment found that horizontal accuracy—measuring 0.5-meter Root Mean Square Error Horizontal (RMSEH) for the Strip DSM and 0.3 m RMSEH for the Mosaic Tile—met the PGC’s technical specifications, earning an “Excellent” rating. Vertical accuracy results showed the Strip DSM (5.6 m RMSEV) and Mosaic Tile (4.9 m RMSEV) varied based on land cover; however, both exceeded the PGC’s specified performance thresholds. Vertical accuracy for the Strip DSM ranged from 4.6 to 6.8 m RMSEV depending on the cloud cover metadata, leading to a “Basic” compliance grade for vertical accuracy.
The assessment concludes that EarthDEM data is suitable for NASA Earth science research and various applications, provided that specific data characteristics—such as vertical accuracy, cloud masking, surface feature completeness, and data voids—align with the specific requirements of the research objective.
The report also included a documentation review of the EarthDEM product, examining information from the PGC website and peer-reviewed research from The Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. The authors noted that the EarthDEM product is “well documented,” with essential technical information available through the product User Guide, scholarly publications, and the PGC GitHub repository.
The CSDA program is designed to identify and acquire commercial data that supports NASA’s Earth science research goals. NASA’s Earth Science Division recognizes that commercial satellite constellations can foster efficient advancements in Earth System Science. Utilizing commercially acquired data offers a cost-effective method to augment or complement the Earth observation suites managed by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners.