A Call for Science Data System Papers

Most space science missions, and many other research projects within Heliophysics, Planetary Science, Earth Science, and related fields, require the development and operation of systems to process collected instrument data into fully-calibrated, scientifically useful quantities. Other related activities, such as metadata generation, archive preparation, and public dissemination are often incorporated into these systems. Since 2022, a community of practice has been emerging to document and share aspects of these systems, with the aim of creating common vocabulary, sharing best practices, and developing reusable components – in contrast to the typical approach of creating each system from scratch for each new mission or project. This community uses the term Science Data System (SDS) for the systems, and Open Science Data Systems as a goal.

We are soliciting contributions to a special issue. This provides a venue for practitioners to share details of SDSs for heritage, operational, or upcoming missions and projects; to describe design decisions made and their rationale, lessons learned, and possibilities for future reuse; and to document Open Science objectives and outcomes.