The Roman Archive in MAST

Roman Mission data products from the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) are stored in MAST. This article provides an overview of Roman functionality in MAST.



What is MAST?

MAST is the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST), which is the permanent repository and access portal for many NASA missions and selected ground-based surveys across a wide range of wavelengths. MAST is a web-based interface capable of specific user queries to return a list of data products meeting matching criteria, such as filter, date range, catalog type, etc. just to name a few options.

The MAST User Documentation provides a more detailed description of MAST functionality.

Information

All WFI science data obtained from the Roman mission will be publicly available to the astronomical community and this includes all Core Community Survey observations as well as any General Investigator programmatic observations. Raw, uncalibrated (Level 1; see Data Levels and Products) products will be available within 24 hours after acquisition. Calibrated rate (Level 2) images will be available within 48 hours after acquisition. "Prompt" versions of high-level data products, such as mosaics (Level 3) and catalogs (Level 4), will be generated using then-available calibrations and archived within 5 and 7 days, respectively, of the acquisition of all necessary input observations. High-level data products with homogenous data processing and additional advanced products will be periodically released to the community through coordinated data releases at a cadence to be determined. More information on prompt and data release products will be published in a future RDox article.


Roman data in MAST overview

Details to Roman science data products can be found in the Data Levels and Products article. Users are encouraged to start there to learn about the different stages of data processing and to help determine which level products they are most interested in retrieving. More generally, there are various types of Roman data available:

  • Science data, including uncalibrated, calibrated, mosaic data products, as well as catalogs. 
  • Engineering data from on-board sensors, including telemetry information.
  • Selected ground test data sets such as Thermal Vacuum Testing (TVAC).

All of these products are available in MAST using one or more user interfaces, as explained in the following subsections. The table below summarizes which interface to use for a specific data type or feature, including whether users may subscribe for notifications of events such as reprocessing or availability of data to the public. 

MAST Data Accessibility Overview

InterfaceTypeScienceEngineeringPreviewsCataloguesSubscriptions
MAST PortalWebcheck mark button check mark button check mark button check mark button check mark button 
Missions SearchWebcheck mark button cross mark check mark button check mark button check mark button 
astroquery.mastAPIcheck mark button cross mark cross mark check mark button cross mark 
MAST APIAPIcheck mark button cross mark cross mark check mark button cross mark 

Details on how to use the MAST API query can be found here.



MAST Mission Search

MAST offers mission-specific search forms for Roman, along with all the other missions it supports. Users can query data and download them in zip files or request curl scripts for later download. The amount of data users may download from the web form is capped, and users will be notified within the search form if limits are exceeded.  More information on the MAST Mission Search, including a video tutorial, is available on the Mission Search Guide in the MAST Documentation.


Data Access API (DAAPI) 

The MAST Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow users to discover and retrieve Roman data through scripted queries in common programming languages, instead of going through the standardized web interface. These APIs require some level of programming experience, but they afford a greater degree of complexity and customization in searches and retrievals. Likewise, the API allows data retrieval to be embedded into custom frameworks such as Jupyter notebooks.

In some cases, using the API is essential for searching and retrieving Roman data. For example, programs that generate tens of thousands of data products per observation may exceed the limits of browser interfaces and must be accessed via the API. Similarly, if the data exceeds the allowable egress limit, users will need to use the Roman Science Platform or their own cloud instance to interact with the data. API users should be mindful of these scenarios and use the API efficiently to handle large search results. For instance, vague or non-specific selection criteria could result in retrieving entire surveys.

Information about the MAST API can be found on the MAST API Access page.


 Engineering Database 

Roman mission engineering data can be accessed through an online search form (a future link will be provided here and on the CaSSI homepage). The Engineering Database contains tens of thousands of mnemonics that track various quantities related to the WFI and the Roman Space Telescope over time. These mnemonics include measurements such as voltage, temperature, and guiding stability. Users can search for specific mnemonics over a specified time period using a query interface that supports uploading mnemonic lists, previewing results, and interactively viewing data as time series. Basic information about conducting engineering database searches is available here. Data can be interactively explored, with the ability to zoom in for greater detail, or downloaded for more detailed offline analysis.


CaSSI

The Roman mission calibration and supplemental data is accessible through the Calibration and Supplemental Search Interface (CaSSI). On CaSSI, authorized users can access calibration and supplemental data such as the Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) data, hosted in the Roman Integration and Testing Archive (RITA). Users will be able to perform queries and download this data through the CaSSI download API. Additional information on CaSSI and its roles in different missions is available here.

No Roman mission science data is available through CaSSI.



For additional questions not answered in this article, please contact the Roman Help Desk at STScI.



Latest Update

Publication

 

Initial publication of the article.