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Support from NAIF

The SPICE tools, generic kernels, mission operations kernels for those missions where NAIF has a funded ops role, and kernels archived at the NAIF node of the PDS, are currently freely available to all. But anyone contemplating using these products must take into consideration that assistance from the NAIF staff in using these products, including solving user problems that seem related to SPICE, is restricted to those activities where the NAIF group is specifically authorized and funded to supply such support. While NAIF would prefer to provide unlimited support to everyone, we simply haven't the human resources and authorization to do so, and have been unsuccessful in getting additional funding that would allow this. What we can do is the following.
  • As members of the navigation node of NASA's Planetary Data System NAIF staff provide modest consultation to individual professional scientists who are using archived SPICE kernels and Toolkit software in pursuit of planetary science data analysis funded by NASA's Planetary Science Division.

  • For anyone who will be preparing an official SPICE archive for one of the NASA Planetary Science Division's flight projects, NAIF can provide a SPICE Archive Guide along with tools and examples. As the Navigation Node of the PDS, NAIF will conduct a review of the proposed archive process, and will review incremental data set submittals from the flight project. Once each data set increment has passed review, NAIF will ingest it and make it available to the worldwide planetary science community from the NAIF Node of the Planetary Data System. IMPORTANT NOTE: this is only an archive preparation service; it does not provide for instruction on the production, validation or use of SPICE kernels.

    The archive guide and associated tools are free and offered to anyone else who wishes to use them on their own.

  • When hired by a flight project to deploy and operate SPICE capabilities, NAIF staff provide to flight team scientists and engineers associated with that flight project SPICE-related support consistent with the scope of work and budget negotiated with the project.

  • NASA provides funding for NAIF to consult on SPICE-related issues for ESA's Mars Express and Rosetta missions.

A table summarizing those flight projects and other endeavors for which NAIF staff are currently authorized to provide help can be viewed here (PDF format).

NAIF's more-or-less annual SPICE training classes are open to space exploration professionals associated with one of the funded activities mentioned above.

Any flight project or other activity that wishes to consider hiring NAIF, whether to configure, deploy and operate some level of the SPICE capability, or to simply provide a consulting service for others who are implementing SPICE, should contact the NAIF manager.

Important links providing additional support information are provided here. This includes information about how to deal with what may appear to be an error in SPICE code.
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