CIRCE - Promoting a data e-infrastructure for the International Space Station

CIRCE (Cooperative International space station Research data Conservation and Exlpoitation) is a coordination action promoted by Telespazio, DLR and CNES, co-funded by the European Commission. Its goal is fostering cooperation with the inernational partners of the ISS and it aims at designing a roadmap for the establishment of a European e-infrastructure geared towards long-term preservation and exploitation of scientific data produced on board ISS. The CIRCE projekct was kicked off in July 2012 and is expected to conclude in December 2013. This paper presents the preliminary findings of CIRCE and identifies benefits of an e-infrastructure, geared towards the exchange and long-term preservation of scientific data and its exploitation, including conserving the knowledge needed for interpretation of the data. The paper also describes the challenges that are identified so far and the next steps that are necessary in establishing such an e-infrastructure, in terms of organizational and technological aspects, as well as policy matters on a multinational level.