Abstract
The Europlanet H2020 program started on 1/9/2015 for 4 years. It
includes an activity to adapt Virtual Observatory (VO) techniques to
Planetary Science data called VESPA. The objective is to facilitate
searches in big archives as well as sparse databases, to provide simple
data access and on-line visualization, and to allow small data providers
to make their data available in an interoperable environment with
minimum effort. The VESPA system has been hugely improved during the
first three years of Europlanet H2020: the infrastructure has been
upgraded to describe data in many fields more accurately; the main user
search interface (http://vespa.obspm.fr) has been redesigned to provide
more flexibility; alternative ways to access Planetary Science data
services from VO tools have been implemented; VO tools are being
improved to handle specificities of Solar System data, e.g. measurements
in reflected light, coordinate systems, etc. Current steps include the
development of a connection between the VO world and GIS tools, and
integration of Heliophysics, planetary plasmas, and mineral spectroscopy
data to support of the analysis of observations. Existing data services
have been updated, and new ones have been designed. The global objective
is already overstepped, with 42 services open (including ESA’s PSA) and
~15 more being finalized. A procedure to install data
services has been documented, and hands-on sessions are organized twice
a year at EGU and EPSC; this is intended to favour the installation of
services by individual research teams, e.g. to distribute derived data
related to a published study. In complement, regular discussions are
held with big data providers, starting with space agencies (IPDA).
Common projects with PDS have been engaged, with the goal to connect
PDS4 and EPN-TAP based on a local data dictionary. In parallel, a Solar
System Interest Group has been established in IVOA; the goal is here to
adapt existing astronomy standards to Planetary Science. The Europlanet
2020 Research Infrastructure project has received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under
grant agreement No 654208. [1] Erard et al 2014, Astronomy &
Computing 7-8, 71-80. http://arxiv.org/abs/1407.4886