What We do

The ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC), located at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Madrid, Spain, provides services and tools to access and retrieve observations and data from ESA's space science missions (astronomy, planetary science and heliophysics). The majority of ESA's space science mission archives are developed and maintained by the ESDC, in coordination with the science operations centres, the instrument teams and the consortia of the various missions.

our strategy

• Enable the maximum scientific exploitation of ESA space science data sets
• Enable efficient long-term preservation of data, software and knowledge, using modern technology
• Enable cost-effective archive production by integration in and across projects.

The team is an active member of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA), a worldwide scientific organisation aimed at enabling global and integrated access to astronomical data; the International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA), a worldwide cooperating partnership to maintain the quality and performance of data from planetary research using instruments in space. Similarly, ESDC is a founding and active member of the International Heliophysics Data Environment Alliance (IHDEA) an international organization encouraging the use of common standards and services to enable data sharing and enhance open science in the heliophysics domain.

Who we are

We are a team of software engineers and scientists dedicated to provide easy and intuitive access to space science data from our extraordinary ESA missions. We welcome feedback and suggestions for ways to improve the archives and services so that as many people as possible can make use of this invaluable resource. Contact the team here.

Read more about the archives and ESDC in this paper.