SBG 2024 TIM Meeting Summary: Current Progress and Future Goals of the SBG Mission

This report summarizes the community discussions at the 2024 NASA Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) from May 29 to 31, 2024, in Washington, D.C., US. The report provides the broader science community with information on the current state of the SBG mission, SBG-relevant science and applications, and future work needed. The SBG mission includes a visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR) spectrometer and a thermal infrared (TIR) radiometer as outlined in the 2017-2027 National Academies' Decadal Survey. Over 150 in-person and 200 online community members from across research and applications areas gathered to learn about the current state of the mission, discuss needed science and applications developments, provide input on SBG- TIR and SBG- VSWIR acquisition decisions, and learn about how to access precursor data from Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source InvesTigation (EMIT), ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS), and relevant airborne instruments. This paper discusses the current state of the SBG mission and the SBG-TIR and SBG-VSWIR instruments, including algorithm development plans, open science approach, and ongoing collaborations with international partners. It presents information on precursor data from the EMIT and ECOSTRESS instruments that can be used to develop and test algorithms for SBG as well as synergistic data from relevant airborne campaigns. These precursor data are also part of a NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) effort to provide tools and tutorials for easier data access and lower the barrier of entry for the use of SBG-like data. The report is provided in Portable Document Format (PDF).