Framework for the development of a Europa planetary spatial data infrastructure

Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is the framework composed of spatial data users, data interoperability agreements, policies and standards, data access mechanisms, and the spatial data themselves. Spatially enabled planetary science data are any data with a spatial component such as remotely sensed orbital data or geotagged sample data (e.g., Apollo samples). As described previously, the goal of SDIs is to make spatial data discoverable, accessible, interoperable, and usable by non-spatial data experts. We note that the term is used to describe both the framework of ideas that support spatial data usage and as an umbrella term for the implemented systems. Herein, we describe the use of the SDIframework, coupled with an implementation strategy to developer a Europa centric SDI-implementation. SDI-frameworks are an area of active research within the terrestrially focused geography and Earth science communities given the large volumes and rapid data collection velocities of spatial data. Likewise, academic, government, and non-government organizations research and implement SDIs to fulfill the spatial data utilization goals previously enumerated. It is from these bodies of work that the planetary science community can develop a Europa or Jovian focused SDI implementation. Considerable sections of this work have been drawn from the recently published article Framework for the Development of Planetary Spatial Data Infrastructures: A Europa Case Study. We are intentionally omitting the theoretical foundations from which the proposed Europa SDI is derived and suggest the aforementioned article to the interested reader.