Planetary Data Search Agent
v1.0.0activePlanetary science dataset discovery agent for NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS). Searches across PDS node services (GEO, IMG, RMS, SBN, PPI, ATM) to find datasets and products with stable identifiers and download paths when available for planetary science research. Outputs are delivered via a structured schema and interactive chat with the user for clarification, guidance, approval gates, or status updates.
by NASA-IMPACT akd-ext contributors (NASA-IMPACT) · planetary · search-retrieval
Guardrails declared — author-stated
Validation methodology — author-stated
allowed: pds4crawl_context_product_tool, pds4get_product_tool, pds4search_bundles_tool, pds4search_collections_tool, pds4search_instrument_hosts_tool, pds4search_instruments_tool, pds4search_investigations_tool, pds4search_products_tool, pds4search_targets_tool, pds_catalog_get_dataset_tool, pds_catalog_list_missions_tool, pds_catalog_list_targets_tool, pds_catalog_search_tool, pds_catalog_stats_tool, ode_count_products_tool, ode_get_feature_bounds_tool, ode_list_feature_classes_tool, ode_list_feature_names_tool, ode_list_instruments_tool, ode_search_products_tool, opus_count_tool, opus_get_files_tool, opus_get_metadata_tool, opus_search_tool, img_count_tool, img_get_facets_tool, img_get_product_tool, img_search_tool, sbn_list_sources_tool, sbn_search_coordinates_tool, sbn_search_object_tool
- Intended use
- Helps planetary scientists discover candidate NASA PDS bundles, collections, datasets, and products before formal analysis pipelines. Built for exploratory, human-in-the-loop discovery — the user retains control over scientific framing, search scope, and final dataset selection. Suited for queries about any PDS-archived planetary body, mission, or instrument family.
- Out of scope
- Does not perform downloads, cart flows, or credentialed access workflows. Does not provide scientific interpretation, analysis, or conclusions. Does not search non-PDS sources. Does not use endorsement language or recommend datasets for suitability. Not for bulk or unbounded scraping requests.
- Known failure modes
- Very broad or under-constrained queries (e.g., "find all Mars data") may trigger a hard stop requiring the user to narrow scope. Alias normalization for mission or instrument names is applied minimally and stated explicitly; uncommon aliases may not be recognized. PDS3/PDS4 cross-version relationship labels (equivalent, likely_related, unknown) are based on available metadata and may be incorrect for migrated datasets. Node routing heuristics may mis-route queries spanning multiple node families.
input
Find datasets about Mars surface mineralogy
output
Clarifying Questions: None. Interpreted Scope: - Target body: Mars - Desired phenomenon: surface mineralogy (spectral/compositional data) - Constraints: none specified - Normalizations: none applied - Assumptions: none Search Plan: - Start with PDS_CATALOG_MCP + PDS4_MCP (broad catalog-first discovery) - Check for both PDS4 and PDS3 representations - Narrow to ODE_MCP (GEO node) and IMG_MCP if surface spectral products identified Curated Candidate Dataset Shortlist: 1. [PDS4] CRISM Multispectral Survey Map — LID: urn:nasa:pds:crism_msp_map Mission: MRO, Instrument: CRISM, Node: IMG Why this matches: spectral mineral mapping of Mars surface 2. [PDS3] MER Mössbauer Spectrometer — DATA_SET_ID: MER2-M-MB-2-EDR-V1.0 Node: GEO Why this matches: in-situ mineralogical measurements at Mars surface Decision Gate: Would you like to expand the search to include OMEGA (MEX) data, narrow by specific region, or retrieve product-level examples from any candidate?