NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive Facts for Kids

The NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) is like a giant digital library for all the amazing information NASA collects from space. It keeps data safe forever from missions that study space science.

What is "space science"? It includes things like:

Astronomy and astrophysics: studying stars, galaxies, and the universe.
Solar and space plasma physics: learning about the Sun and the super-hot, charged gas (plasma) found in space.
Planetary and lunar science: exploring planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system.

The NSSDCA works with other NASA archives that help scientists and sometimes the public get data right away. NSSDCA is the permanent home for this data. It also lets people access special computer models and data from some non-NASA missions. Before March 2015, it was called the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC).

NSSDCA helps scientists who are actively researching space physics and astrophysics. It also has websites that let everyone, including you, learn about spacecraft and see cool digital pictures. The NSSDCA also has a huge database. This database contains information about the data it stores, the spacecraft that collected the data, and the experiments that gathered it. NSSDCA also helps set standards for managing data.

The NSSDCA is part of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. It gets support from the Heliophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NSSDCA works with other NASA data systems to share information and services.

What is the NSSDCA?
Exploring Astrophysics Data
The Master Catalog: Your Guide to Space Data
See also

What is the NSSDCA?

The NSSDCA first started in 1966 at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Back then, it was called NSSDC. The people who work at NSSDCA are mostly scientists, computer experts, and data specialists. Over the years, between 15 and 100 people have worked there.

In the early days, NSSDCA stored data on special tapes and photo prints. They would mail these out to people who needed them. But starting in the mid-1980s, they began sending and receiving more and more data using electronic networks. Today, you can get data from NSSDCA over the internet using web pages (HTTP) or file transfer (FTP).

Exploring Astrophysics Data

This part of NSSDCA helps you find information about the universe beyond our solar system.

Data Services for Astrophysics

This section offers cool data and mission details:

The Multiwavelength Milky Way: See our galaxy, the Milky Way, in different types of light.
The Multimedia Catalog: Find various media related to space.
The NSSDC Photo Gallery: Look at amazing pictures from space missions.

Flight Mission Information

Here you can find lists of space missions and details about them. This is where the NSSDC Master Catalog is located. You can also find specific information about each mission. There's even a way to explore mission information using a graphical map.

Related Information Services

These services give you more detailed information about the data NSSDCA holds. You can use the Master Catalog to explore lunar, planetary, and heliophysics data.

NASA Astrophysics Data Centers

NSSDCA works with other important NASA centers that store astrophysics data. These include:

HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center)
IRSA (Infrared Science Archives)
LAMBDA (Legacy Archive for Microwave Background Data Analysis)
MAST (Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes)

The Master Catalog: Your Guide to Space Data

The NSSDC Master Catalog is a powerful tool. It lets you search for information about the data stored at NSSDCA. You can also find extra details using different search options:

Spacecraft Search: Look up information about rockets, satellites, and probes that have traveled in space.
Experiment Search: Find details about the scientific experiments that flew on space missions.
Data Collection Search: Discover specific sets of data that NSSDCA keeps track of, especially those stored there.
Personnel Search: Find contact information for people involved with different missions or data collections.
Publication Search: Look for articles and papers related to the data NSSDCA stores or the experiments that collected it.
Lunar and Planetary Map Search: Find maps of the Moon and other planets that NSSDCA has.
New and Updated Data Search: See what new data NSSDCA has recently added.
Lunar and Planetary Events Search: Discover important events related to exploring the Moon and our Solar System.

NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive facts for kids

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