Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmin23a1063a&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #IN23A-1063
Mathematics
Logic
[1976] Informatics / Software Tools And Services
Scientific paper
The Planetary Data System (PDS) is the chosen repository in which data from NASA's historic Cassini Mission to Saturn is archived. Not one, but several nodes of the PDS contain the data: the Imaging Node, the Rings Node, the Atmospheres Node, and the Planetary Plasma Interactions Node. Other relevant PDS nodes for the purposes of making best use of the data include the Engineering Node, and the Navigation and Ancillary Information Node. Tools for reading, plotting, finding ephemeris of, and other tools are also available. The PDS Home Page is given at the URL below. Data consists (only a partial list is included here) of: images from ISS (the camera system), and the Radar system; spectra from remote sensing instruments: UVIS (the ultraviolet spectrometer), and VIMS (the visible/infrared spectrometer); radiometry from CIRS; electron and ion sensor data from CAPS (the plasma instrument); high energy electron, ion, and neutral sensor data as well as images from MIMI (the energetic particle instrument); magnetic field data from MAG (the magnetometer); ion and neutral count data from INMS (the mass spectrometer); dust count data from CDA (the dust detector); and raw data from the radio science experiment. The Cassini Project conducted a 'Usability study' in 2008 with beta testers to assess the ease of use of these data for investigators who are not part of Cassini. Though instrument teams have met all their contractural responsibilities to the PDS in terms of data archiving, many of the data sets -- including those with detailed instructions for investigators performing their own calibrations -- were found to be non-trivial to use. Some of the data sets require knowledge of specialized software, including the SPICE toolkit -- a compilation of ephemeris and other data, documentation of which is provided, but which is non-trivial to use. The usual problems of a rapidly changing technological landscape, the need to find universal tools with which to handle a multiplicity of instrument data, including tools to help the user understand the spacecraft geometry, have impacted the 'usability' of these data. The need to convey to the user methods, approaches, and essentials of the documentation have been a component of enhancing the accessibility of the data for new users. In addition to the logistics of the PDS, prospective users must make themselves aware of gaps, calibration issues, instructions that are part of the documentation, and other nuances of the data. In this talk we present lessons learned from the experiences of our beta-testers, and steps that have been taken to enhance the accessibility of the data. Work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, was supported by NASA. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
Alexander Claudia J.
Beebe Reta F.
Pappalardo Robert T.
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