Stars in the night sky over a darkened Earth landscape.
The pale gray of Europa is seen against the blackness of space.
Illustration of the tri-winged spacecraft over the planet Jupiter, which is tan and white striped

Planetary Data Ecosystem

NASA and CHORUS have signed a participation agreement to expand public access to the results of NASA-funded research. Publications available in CHORUS comply with NASA policy with no further action required by researchers.

Find links to PDE websites

What is the Planetary Data Ecosystem?

NASA defined the Planetary Data Ecosystem (PDE) as the ad hoc connected framework of activities and products that are built upon and support the data collected by planetary space missions and research programs, which primarily are NASA funded.

The PDE IRB further elaborated on this concept by enumerating the types of information in the PDE and the communities involved.

  • Data returned from space missions and ground-based facilities, including observational data, telemetry and other engineering data, samples, and mission planning documents
  • Data generated by research and analysis projects, including observational data analysis, theoretical research, laboratory results, and Earth analog site field tests
  • Data generated by citizen scientists, including participants in observation campaigns, contributors to collaborative citizen-science services, and space enthusiasts
  • Standards for planetary science data and metadata
  • Software including data processing pipelines, analysis tools, search and browse tools, display tools, and simulation tools
  • Publications, including articles, books, conference abstracts, reports, posters, and presentations
  • Education and communication products, including value-added products from missions and facilities (websites, captioned photos, etc.), educational materials, recordings of outreach events, products generated for the media, and unpublished photo and video documentary material gathered for public engagement purposes.

The communities include:

  • Personnel from NASA and other space agencies (themselves containing many different stakeholder groups)
  • Mission and ground-based facility personnel
  • Science researchers, technology innovators, software developers, media professionals, historians, artists, and others who use planetary data in a professional capacity
  • Amateurs, enthusiasts, and hobbyists
  • Educators, students at all age levels, and parents of students, in both formal and informal education environments.

Incomplete History of the PDE

1963 – USGS Astrogeology Science Center established​
1966 – NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) established​
1977 – NASA Regional Planetary Image Facilities (RPIFs) established (sunset in 2020)
1982 – National Academy of Sciences Committee on Data Management and Computation (CODMAC) chartered​
1985 – NASA’s Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System (AMMOS) initially developed​
1989 – NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) established​
1998 – NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS)* established​
1998- NASA Data Analysis Program (e.g. DDAP, MDAP) established
2014 – NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) program created​
2014 – Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT) established​
2016 – Idea of Planetary Data Environment/Ecosystem starts to take hold at NASA HQ​
2021 – Planetary Data Ecosystem (PDE) Independent Review Board (IRB) report​
*Formerly Near-Earth Object Observations Programs (NEOO)​

For general inquiries, please contact hq-pde@mail.nasa.gov.

PDE Websites

Graphic logo of lowercase letter a inside a stylized magnifying glass

Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is a digital library portal for researchers in astronomy and physics.

Dried, cracked land in the lower third of the image, with the Sun blazing down from the upper right

Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database (AHED)

The Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database (AHED) is being developed as a long-term, open-access repository for astrobiology data.

Golden Earth graphic with data grid overlay

Advanced Multi-Missions Operation System (AMMOS)

The Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System (AMMOS) is a set of mission operations and data processing capabilities utilized by more than 50 robotic missions.

Cartoonish graphic of planets

Astromaterials Data System (Astromat)

The Astromaterials Data System (Astromat)  is a comprehensive data infrastructure to access, publish, and preserve laboratory analytical data generated on astromaterials samples. 

US map showing red dots mapping data points in different locations

Autoplot

Autoplot is an interactive browser for data on the web to allow quick and interactive browsing of data and metadata files.

Closeup of Mars rover scooping up a sample of surface material

CheMin Database

The CheMin database is a living repository of CheMin and related Mars Science Laboratory Mission data. 

Logo for the MAESTRO program featuring vibration lines at the left and a data circle on the right

The Exoplanet Opacity Database

The MAESTRO (Molecules and Atoms in Exoplanet Science: Tools and Resources for Opacities) database is an opacity service that can be accessed by the community via a web interface. 

IPDA logo with letters below Saturn graphic in dark blue

International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA)

The International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA) is a cooperating partnership to maintain the quality and performance of data (including data formats) from planetary research using instruments in space. 

JMARS logo of red, orange, and green orbs behind letters with orbit circle around them

Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing (JMARS)

Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing (JMARS) is a geospatial information system developed to provide mission planning and data-analysis tools to NASA scientists, instrument team members, students, and the public.

Light trails of various colors representing solar system objects

JPL Horizons System

The JPL Horizons on-line solar system data and ephemeris computation service provides access to key solar system data and flexible production of highly accurate ephemerides for solar system objects . 

JSC Curation Online Catalogs

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office, part of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division, is responsible for the curation of extraterrestrial samples from NASA's past and future sample return missions. 

MAPSIT logo with text over graphic planet half blue, half red, with orbit track around the planet

Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT)

The mission of the Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT) is to ensure that planetary data are usable for any purpose, now and in the future.

Nasa insignia

NASA GitHub

This GitHub organization is intended to publicly host NASA code that has been SRA-approved for open source. 

Artistic collage of solar system planets and asteroids

NASA Planetary GitHub

The NASA Planetary Science GitHub is the recommended repository for software developed through research projects funded by NASA's Planetary Science Division (PSD) within its Science Mission Directorate (SMD), especially research projects under ROSES Appendix C.1.

ndividual frames for each of the six planets imaged, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA)

The NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) provides multidiscipline archive services, including an analog and digital archive from past NASA space science missions along with directories, catalogs, and access to widely distributed science data resources.

PDS logo with text in front of orange planet with orbit path around it

Planetary Data System (PDS)

The Planetary Data System (PDS) is a long-term archive of digital data products returned from NASA's planetary missions, and from other kinds of flight and ground-based data acquisitions, including laboratory experiments.

Nasa insignia

NASA/USGS Planetary Geologic Mapping Program

The Planetary Geologic Mapping Program serves the international scientific community through the production of high-quality standardized geologic maps of planetary bodies and by providing support for planetary science and mapping efforts.

Graphic of Photojournal home page showing lineup of solar system planets

Planetary Photojournal

The Photojournal is an interface to the Planetary Image Archive (PIA) within the Planetary Data System Imaging Node, providing an entry point to thousands of publicly available high-resolution images and accompanying products from data returned by JPL missions.

Typographic logo for PSIDA with half-circle neon blue at left

Planetary Science Informatics and Data Analytics (PSIDA)

The PSIDA conference provides a forum to discuss approaches, challenges, and applications of informatics and data analytics technologies and capabilities in planetary science.

Sample data chart showing peaks

QAnalyze

QAnalyze is an automated cloud-based application for quantitative analysis of mineral samples using X-ray diffraction (XRD) data.

The Moon

QuickMap

QuickMap is a highly customizable web-based mapping and analysis tool.

Colorful abstract planetary image from RPIF website

Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF) Network

The Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF) Network is an international network of planetary image and data centers hosted by different institutions. 

Full disk view of roundish asteroid

Small Body Mapping Tool (SBMT)

The Small Body Mapping Tool (SBMT) is an interactive tool that allows users to visualize and manipulate small body shape models in three dimensions.

Satellite image of Arizona with arrows pointing to geological landmarks including the Grand Canyon

Terrestrial Analogs for Research and Geologic Exploration Training (TARGET)

The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Science Center (ASC) built the Terrestrial Analogs for Research and Geologic Exploration Training (TARGET) program around the recognition that Earth is a fundamental training ground for human and robotic planetary exploration,

Multicolor orbit paths of planets in the solar system

NASA Solar System Treks

The Solar System Treks are online, browser-based portals that allow you to visualize, explore, and analyze the surfaces of other worlds using real data returned from a growing fleet of spacecraft. 

USGS typographic logo

USGS Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS)

Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS) is free and open-source software tool for processing raw archival data into analysis ready products with the ability to place different types of data in the correct cartographic locations on extraterrestrial bodies. 

USGS typographic logo

USGS Astrogeology Planetary Photogrammetry Lab

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Planetary Photogrammetry Lab offers a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and orthorectified image production service to the scientific community to supply NASA-selected investigators with high-quality HiRISE DTMs and orthorectified HiRISE images. 

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA