Abbreviation
PDS
Distributed data system
Data archiving for Solar System missions
- United States
NASA Headquarters' Planetary Sciences Division
Organizational structure[edit]
The PDS is divided into a number of science discipline "nodes" which are individually curated by planetary scientists.[2]: 15
The PDS Management Council serves as the technical policy board of the PDS, and provides findings for NASA with respect to planetary science data management, ensures coordination among the nodes, guarantees responsiveness to customer needs, and monitors the appropriate uses of evolving information technologies that may make PDS tasks both more efficient and more cost effective.[14] It is formed by the principal investigators of the science discipline nodes, along with the leaders of the Technical Support Nodes, the Project Manager, and Deputy Project Manager.[2]: 39
The Solar System Exploration Data Services Office at the Goddard Space Flight Center handles PDS Project Management.[15]
Roadmap 2017–2026[edit]
NASA and the PDS recently engaged in development of a Roadmap for the period 2017 to 2026. The purpose of the roadmap effort was to outline a strategy for moving forward in planetary data archiving under the auspices of a rapidly growing data volume (nearly 1 petabyte at present), new computing capabilities, tools, and facilities, and a growing community of planetary science investigators.[2]