NASA Planetary Data System
Microwave Subnode

Welcome to the Microwave Subnode, located at the Center for Space Research of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, USA. We are a subsidiary of the Geosciences Node of NASA's Planetary Data System. We archive and distribute digital data related to the study of the surfaces and interiors of planetary bodies using active and passive microwave sensing techniques.

The PDS Imaging Node has installed a Magellan Image Browser that allows you to view any portion of the Venus radar image data set by latitude and longitude. To use this service, your Web client must be capable of using the HTML FORMS protocol.

The Earth and Planetary Science Department at McGill University in Montreal announces its Face of Venus browser, including interactive access to crater and corona databases.

Click here for the latest additions to the Planetary Data System, and here for the latest news from the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC).

General Information about Planetary Data

: Introduction
: Accessing NASA news releases via Internet
: National Space Science Data Center
: Planetary Astronomy
: Planetary Data System
: Regional Planetary Image Facilities
: Access to Teaching Materials
: Welcome to the Planets (a demonstration)

Frequently Asked Questions

Compiled by Jon Leech (leech@cs.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and last updated on Feb 1.

: 1. Introduction
: 2. Network Space Resources
: 3. Online Space Data Sources
: 4. Useful Constants and Equations
: 5. References to Space
: 6. Contacting Space Agencies
: 7. NASA's Space Shuttle
: 8. Past Planetary Probes
: 9. Present and Future Planetary Probes
: 10. Controversial Questions about Space
: 11. Interest Groups and Publications
: 12. How to Become an Astronaut
: 13. Space Launch Services

Microwave Datasets on-line at MIT

At the present time, the only data sets that are available on-line at this sub-node come from spaceborne measurements of the planet Venus. They are grouped by mission:

: Pioneer Venus (1978-81)
: Venera 15/16 (1983-4)
: Magellan (1990-2)

Click here to display some sample images. Click here to browse our database of all published Magellan MIDR and GxDR image mosaics. This uses the HTML FORMS protocol introduced in HTML+. The PDS Imaging Node provides a similar service, the Magellan Image Browser. If your WWW client doesn't understand FORMS, use this interface instead. Many of the full-sized images are also available via FTP from the Ames Server.