Final Report of the Open Source Science for Earth System Observatory Mission Data Processing Architecture Study

The Open Source Science for Earth System Observatory (ESO) Mission Data Processing Architecture Study was sponsored by Kevin Murphy, Chief Science Data Officer of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Program Manager for the Earth Science Division (ESD) Data Systems. The study purpose is to assess if a common Mission Data Processing System (MDPS) architecture can be used across the ESO projects to process the mission science data, while promoting open science principles, enabling efficiencies, and advancing Earth system science and applications. A critical component of an Earth observing mission is the ground-based system that transforms raw data collected by the instrument into archive ready, scientifically valid data products. This system, which we refer to as the Mission Data Processing System (MDPS), consists of geophysical retrieval algorithms, operational software, computing infrastructure, documentation, and team procedures. It also includes the suite of software tools that support the development of the processing algorithms, data validation and analysis, and data reprocessing.