Planetary Data Ecosystem Overview
The Planetary Data Ecosystem (PDE) is a network of activities and products that support primarily NASA-funded planetary missions and research programs. The PDE ensures planetary data is discoverable and usable by a wide range of audiences, fostering interdisciplinary science and new discoveries about the solar system and beyond.
PDE Objectives:
- Make planetary data available to the broadest possible audience, following open science principles.
- Reduce barriers to access data and information by increasing discovery and availability of NASA-funded planetary science data and tools.
- Provide users with the infrastructure, tools, and training to explore and use planetary data, enabling interdisciplinary science.
- Encourage new and exciting discoveries about our solar system and beyond.
NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD) advances scientific knowledge of the solar system through exploration. The PDE infrastructure connects our planetary mission activities and the data analysis and software development efforts of our planetary community, enabling us to meet our objectives.
Supporting Planetary Science
The Planetary Data Ecosystem (PDE) is the set of repositories, software, tools, standards, and policies that facilitate the discoverability and availability of planetary data and tools to the broadest community possible. Our goal is to enable innovative, interdisciplinary, and high-quality research throughout planetary science and engineering communities, and to inspire learning, discovery, and exploration of our solar system and universe.
The PDE encompasses all data and tools supported by the Planetary Science Division (PSD), which includes the Planetary Data System (PDS) — NASA’s long-term archive of digital data products returned from the agency's planetary missions — as well as efforts developed across the entire Planetary Science Division portfolio by contributing mission teams, NASA centers, citizen scientists, and our research and analysis community.
These efforts include:
- Data returned from space missions and ground-based facilities, and data generated by research and analysis projects, which are preserved in archives and repositories. The Planetary Science Division’s primary archives include the Planetary Data System (PDS) and the Astromaterials Data System (Astromat). See our Data Sites and Repositories page to explore planetary data.
- A range of software and tools for data processing, mission support, visualization, modeling, simulation, and analysis. See our Software and Tools page to discover tools tailored for planetary science applications.
- Standards and policies that ensure robust planetary science and follow open science guidelines. See our Policies, Standards, and Community Reports page for additional information.
- Learning resources to lower barriers for using planetary data and tools, such as presentations, tutorials, past workshop materials, and upcoming events. See our Learn page for additional resources.
- A vibrant community of planetary scientists, researchers, engineers, mission teams, software developers, educators, students, citizen scientists, media personnel, and members of the general public. See our Community Groups page to learn more about community-organized efforts and how to get involved.
The Planetary Data Community
NASA’s Planetary Science Division provides researchers working with planetary data the resources and tools to uncover the mysteries of our solar system, develop innovative capabilities, and be a part of this thriving community. Interested individuals can get involved with planetary science and exploration community groups to help shape the field.
The Planetary Data Ecosystem (PDE) supports the data needs of the entire planetary science community. Together, we can push our understanding of the solar system and the universe further than ever before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question or comment about PDE’s data products or activities? View the frequently asked questions below or contact the PDE team.
View SMD Science Information Policy (SPD-41a): Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/science-information-policy_faq/
For general inquiries, please contact hq-pde@mail.nasa.gov.
The Planetary Data Ecosystem Independent Review Board
This archived content may contain outdated information or references that may not reflect current policy or programs.
The Planetary Data Ecosystem Independent Review Board (PDE IRB) was chartered in 2020 to conduct a holistic review of the PDE, with the goals of defining the full environment, identifying missing or redundant elements, and providing findings and prioritized recommendations. The IRB delivered its final report (PDF) to NASA on April 20, 2021, which included 67 findings and 65 prioritized recommendations. These recommendations fell into three broad categories:
- Continued strategic development of the overall Ecosystem and data stewardship (Sections 2 and 3).
- Barriers to data preservation (Sections 3 and 4).
- Barriers to access, usability, and development (Sections 5 and 6).
In response, the Planetary Science Division (PSD) completed an internal assessment on PSD actions and efforts, setting the direction for developing a more connected and effective PDE. The Planetary Science Division’s response to the PDE IRB report (PDF) describes efforts that have been completed from April 2021 to September 2023.
Comments and feedback on the PDE IRB final report and this response document are welcome. Please email any comments, additional information, or corrections to hq-pde@mail.nasa.gov.
This archived content may contain outdated information or references that may not reflect current policy or programs.
All meeting recordings are available to watch on YouTube.
- November 12, 2020: PDE IRB Kick-Off Meeting.
- Kick-Off Part 1 recording.
- Kick-Off Part 2 recording.
- Kick-Off Meeting Breakout - Archiving Sub-Committee recording.
- Kick-Off Meeting Breakout - Inter-Relational Sub-Committee recording.
- Kick-Off Meeting Breakout - Mining and Automation Sub-Committee recording.
- Kick-Off Meeting Breakout - Searching Sub-Committee recording.
- Kick-Off Meeting Breakout - Utilization Sub-Committee recording.
- December 17, 2020: PDE IRB meeting part 1 recording and IRB meeting part 2 recording.
- January 21, 2021: PDE IRB meeting part 1 recording and IRB meeting part 2 recording.
- February 23, 2021: PDE IRB meeting part 1 recording and IRB meeting part 2 recording.
- February 24, 2021: PDE IRB meeting recording.
- March 2, 2021: Full Interim IRB Briefing Recording from March 2, 2021.
- March 2, 2021: PDE IRB Interim Report Briefing content (PDF) and Interim Briefing slides (PDF).
Search for NASA Science Data
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) provides web tools to search across all of NASA’s science data, publications, software, and resources.
Science Discovery Engine
An integrated search platform to help you find what you need across NASA’s vast stores of open science data, documentation, code, and tools.
Science Explorer (SciX)
A digital library portal for scientific publications and software related to astronomy, Earth science, heliophysics, physics, and planetary science.