The GLOBE Program

What The GLOBE Program does

The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a U.S. government-sponsored international science and education initiative founded in 1994 and operated under NASA leadership with co-sponsorship from NSF, NOAA, and the U.S. Department of State. It connects K-12 and higher-education students, teachers, and citizen scientists across 127 countries to collect standardized environmental observations using protocols spanning the Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Pedosphere (soil) Earth-system spheres. The technical platform consists of the GLOBE Observer mobile app (iOS and Android), a web-based data-entry and visualization stack centered on the GLOBE Data and Information System (DIS), the GLOBE Visualization System, the Advanced Data Access Tool (ADAT), the GLOBE DataTool desktop client, and a public Python-accessible API. The platform has accumulated 289+ million environmental measurements, supports satellite-matching against Landsat, Sentinel, NOAA-20, Aqua, and Terra, and uses Amazon Rekognition as a third-party computer-vision service to redact faces and text in submitted photos for privacy. Participation is free to all end users; eTraining, data access, and the mobile app carry no charge.

The program is implemented operationally through the GLOBE Implementation Office, managed under NASA cooperative-agreement awards to the Education Development Center (EDC) and the City University of New York, with distributed technical and scientific staff embedded at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Langley Research Center, NASA JPL, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Oregon State University, and partner organizations including IGES, ADNET Systems, Astrion, and Axient. GLOBE's go-to-market operates at three levels: government-to-government bilateral agreements establish national presence via Country Coordinators in 127 countries; trained GLOBE teachers enroll schools and students into curriculum-aligned data collection; and the GLOBE Observer app plus a SciStarter integration enable direct citizen-scientist onboarding without formal training. Strategic sponsors include the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program via the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative.

The business model is non-commercial: GLOBE is funded by U.S. federal appropriations channeled through cooperative agreements and grants, with the program itself free at the point of use. Pricing is a pure freemium model with no commercial tier, no enterprise license, and no monetization of the data corpus. Customer segments are personas rather than buyers: K-12 science educators, students, general citizen scientists, formal GLOBE Schools, partner-country governments, and STEM professional mentors via the GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN). Revenue concentration on NASA as lead federal sponsor is the dominant financial-risk vector; the lack of commercial monetization means the program cannot self-fund through user fees.

Name

The GLOBE Program

Legal name

The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment)

Website

https://globe.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The GLOBE Program is a U.S. government-sponsored (NASA, NSF, NOAA, U.S. State Department) international science and education initiative founded in 1994, engaging students, teachers, and citizen scientists across 127 countries in free, protocol-based environmental data collection spanning atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and pedosphere.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Citizen Science Education Program

NAICS

Administration of Education Programs (92311), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Earth Science & Geoscience Programs (EDAMABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Intergovernmental Education Cooperation & Bilateral/Multilateral Programs (EDADALAA)

Keywords

• Citizen science education
• Environmental data collection
• Earth science protocols
• K-12 STEM learning
• Satellite data integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. U.S. Federal Government Funding: GLOBE is funded through U.S. federal government agencies including NASA (primary sponsor), NSF, NOAA, and U.S. Department of State. Implementation is managed through NASA cooperative agreements with Education Development Center and City University of New York.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The GLOBE Program provides a free, international citizen-science and education platform that enables students, teachers, and the public to collect standardized environmental measurements across the Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Pedosphere using the GLOBE Observer mobile app and web-based data entry tools. Collected observations feed into NASA-managed centralized databases supporting 289+ million measurements that are matched against satellite data and made available for research, visualization, student research reports, and the International Virtual Science Symposium.

Product overview

The GLOBE Program is a worldwide science and education initiative providing students and citizens tools for environmental data collection. The core platform consists of the GLOBE Website (globe.gov) for program access, the GLOBE Observer mobile app for citizen scientists, and the GLOBE Visualization System and Advanced Data Access Tool for data analysis. The program offers GLOBE eTraining for protocol education and GLOBE Protocols covering Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Pedosphere (soil). Additional offerings include the GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN) for professional engagement, Student Research Reports platform, and the International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS). Programs operate through the GLOBE Implementation Office (GIO) with data managed by the GLOBE Data and Information System (DIS). Notable campaigns include Trees Around the GLOBE and GLOBE Mission Mosquito. As of June 2026, the program has 289+ million measurements, 1.28 million+ citizen scientists, and 127 countries participating.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GLOBE Observer: Mobile application for citizen scientists to collect environmental observations including clouds, land cover, mosquito habitats, and trees.

Products and services

• GLOBE Observer Mobile App Free iOS/Android mobile application that enables citizen scientists and students to collect environmental observations (clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, trees, eclipses) with GPS tagging and photo capture, sync offline data, and earn achievements and streaks.
• GLOBE Website (globe.gov) Main web platform serving as the central hub for program information, account creation, data entry, training resources, community features, and access to the GLOBE data archive for teachers, students, citizen scientists, and Country Coordinators.
• GLOBE eTraining Online training platform with protocol-specific modules across Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Pedosphere (Soil). Users complete an introductory module plus sphere introduction and at least one protocol-specific module to become certified GLOBE data collectors.
• GLOBE Visualization System (Vis) Interactive web-based mapping and visualization tool allowing users to explore GLOBE environmental data on maps with multiple protocol layers, filtering options, and plotting capabilities, including satellite data overlays.
• GLOBE Advanced Data Access Tool (ADAT) Web-based data access tool for querying and downloading GLOBE environmental measurements with advanced filtering by protocol, date range, location, site, and other parameters.
• GLOBE DataTool Desktop data entry tool for entering and submitting GLOBE protocol measurements to the program's database.
• GLOBE Data and Information System (DIS) NASA-managed centralized database and API system managing over 289 million environmental measurements across atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and pedosphere protocols, with associated satellite-matching and data quality controls.
• GLOBE API Public REST API providing programmatic access to GLOBE environmental data, including site location data defined by the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) and true latitude/longitude of observations made with the GLOBE Observer mobile app, with documentation and sample Python scripts.
• GLOBE Protocols Standardized data collection procedures covering four Earth system spheres (Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Pedosphere/Soil) with over 30 measurement methods, including education standards alignment.
• International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) Annual virtual conference where GLOBE students present their research findings, connect with scientists and educators worldwide, and compete for recognition based on use of GLOBE data.
• GLOBE Student Research Reports Platform for K-12 and higher-education students to conduct, submit, and publish original research reports using GLOBE data, supporting development of scientific inquiry and research skills.

Quantifiable outcome

• 289+ million total environmental measurements collected globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Education Development Center (EDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLOBE Implementation Office is sponsored through NASA cooperative agreement awards to Education Development Center and City University of New York. EDC manages the GLOBE Implementation Office.
• City University of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLOBE Implementation Office is co-sponsored through NASA cooperative agreement awards alongside Education Development Center. CUNY manages the GLOBE Implementation Office.
• NASA Langley Research CentermajorTechnology or IntegrationNASA Langley hosts the GLOBE Clouds team including principal investigators, scientists, and outreach coordinators. The center supports satellite matching operations.
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)majorTechnology or IntegrationNASA JPL team member Peter Falcon serves as connection to tree height science and outreach community, contributing to GLOBE Observer Trees tool.
• NASA Goddard Space Flight CentermajorTechnology or IntegrationNASA Goddard manages the GLOBE Data and Information System, hosts core GLOBE Observer team members, and manages satellite data integration.
• NASA eClipsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA eClips collaborates with GLOBE to host professional learning experiences for educators, integrating NASA educational resources with GLOBE protocols.
• National Institute of AerospaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated in Hampton, Virginia, the National Institute of Aerospace hosts GLOBE professional learning events and educator workshops.
• International GEOScientists (IGES)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGES team members lead Mosquito Habitat Mapper, NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative, and contribute to evaluation, design, and outreach.
• Oregon State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOregon State University hosts Land Cover science lead and evaluation team, contributing research expertise and institutional resources.
• AstrionmajorTechnology or IntegrationAstrion team members lead technology development for GLOBE Observer app and website, including development and support for the data platform.
• ADNET SystemsmajorTechnology or IntegrationADNET team members at NASA Langley support GLOBE Clouds project science and satellite matching operations.
• AxientminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunication intern Tessa Clougherty from Axient supports GLOBE Observer communications and social media content.
• NASA@My LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership extending GLOBE to library communities as part of NASA's science activation initiatives.
• 127 Partner CountriescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGLOBE is implemented through bilateral agreements between the U.S. government and governments of 127 countries. Each country has a Country Coordinator and typically a Ministry of Education, Environment, or Science as signatory.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• iNaturalist: The world's largest citizen science biodiversity platform, sharing GLOBE's crowdsourced observation model and free mobile-app distribution. Both aggregate structured environmental observations from a global user base, though iNaturalist focuses on species ID while GLOBE targets Earth system measurements.
• Zooniverse: The largest academic crowdsourced research platform, hosting dozens of citizen science projects across scientific domains. It overlaps GLOBE in volunteer-driven data collection but is project-aggregator rather than single-protocol, making it a comparable but broader alternative.
• eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): A citizen science platform built on structured observation protocols, an academic institution backbone, and free data access. eBird is a leading comparable for GLOBE's model of combining training, standardized protocols, and a global user community around a single scientific theme.
• Earthwatch Institute: A nonprofit that runs citizen science expeditions and field research programs. It shares GLOBE's citizen-science-and-environmental-monitoring positioning but operates via paid expeditions rather than free app-based participation.

Broad incumbents

• NASA Citizen Science: The parent-program umbrella that includes GLOBE Observer alongside dozens of other NASA-affiliated citizen science projects. It is comparable as the broader NASA citizen-science portfolio and the source of GLOBE's SciAct funding.
• National Geographic Society (Education Programs): A long-established STEM education and exploration brand with citizen science initiatives. Comparable as a broader STEM education incumbent that overlaps with GLOBE's K-12 audience and educator training model.
• Smithsonian Institution (Education & Citizen Science): Operates multiple citizen science and STEM education programs (e.g., Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center). Comparable as a large, federally-connected institution running parallel citizen-science and education portfolios.

Others

• SciStarter: A citizen science aggregator and enablement platform that already integrates with GLOBE Observer via account linking. Comparable as the ecosystem hub that drives discovery and project participation for GLOBE users.

Emerging players

• Journey North: A citizen science program tracking seasonal migration and phenology observations, focused on K-12 participation. Comparable as a smaller-scale, education-led citizen science platform with structured observation protocols.
• Project BudBurst (Chicago Botanic Garden): A citizen science phenology program engaging volunteers in plant observation. Comparable as a niche, education-focused environmental observation initiative with structured protocols, though at a smaller scale than GLOBE.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GLOBEProgram
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/globeprogram
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheGLOBEProgram
• Instagraminstagram.com/globeprogram/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The GLOBE Program