About The Geosciences Node

The Geosciences Node is one of several discipline-specific nodes that make up the Planetary Data System (see PDS Background). Our job is to archive and distribute datasets that are relevant to the geosciences discipline, which can be summarized as the study of the surfaces and interiors of terrestrial planetary bodies. The Geosciences Node consists of the lead node at Washington University in St. Louis and two data nodes, each responsible for a particular kind of data. They are the TES Data Node at Arizona State University and the GRS Data Node at the University of Arizona.

We work with planetary missions to help ensure that their geoscience datasets are properly documented and archived. For Mars missions, this interaction is facilitated by the appointment of the Geosciences Node director, Raymond Arvidson, as the Interdisciplinary Scientist for Data and Archives for the Mars Surveyor Program. We also restore and publish datasets from past missions that are in danger of being lost. We provide information and expert assistance to researchers on the datasets that we maintain, and we are glad to answer questions from the interested non-scientist as well. For more information, see References.

Our web site contains information about all of our data holdings, many of which can be browsed online and downloaded. Data can also be distributed on CD or DVD on request, if downloading is undesirable. Products on physical media are free to NASA-sponsored researchers. Requests from non-NASA users for data on CD or DVD are forwarded to NSSDC (the National Space Science Data Center) where they are filled for a nominal fee.

The Geosciences Node has a special interest in supporting the projects associated with the Mars Surveyor Program, including orbiters, landers, and rovers. We also provide support for archiving field tests of prototype landers and rovers.