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| Space Telescope Science Institute MAST | |
|---|---|
| Name | MAST |
| Formation | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Parent organization | Space Telescope Science Institute |
Space Telescope Science Institute MAST The Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) is a NASA-funded astronomical data archive operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute that preserves, curates, and distributes data from space-based observatories. MAST supports a broad user community including researchers from NASA, European Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and international consortia, providing access to datasets that underpin research published in journals such as The Astrophysical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Nature, and Science. MAST integrates holdings from missions managed by organizations such as SpaceX, Ball Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and instrument teams linked to universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology.
MAST functions as the primary archive for legacy and active ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared data from major missions including Hubble Space Telescope, Kepler, K2, TESS, GALEX, and ROSAT-related projects. It serves as a node in federated networks with archives such as European Southern Observatory, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, European Space Agency Science Archive Facility, IPAC, and HEASARC, and interfaces with initiatives like the Virtual Observatory and International Virtual Observatory Alliance. The archive supports data formats and standards endorsed by organizations including NASA Ames Research Center, National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, NOIRLab, and the National Science Foundation.
MAST was established following planning by teams associated with Space Telescope Science Institute and funded through programs at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Headquarters. Early curation efforts incorporated datasets from projects led by institutions such as Ball Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, and collaborations with mission principal investigators at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and California Institute of Technology. Growth of the archive paralleled major missions like Hubble Space Telescope, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, with partnerships involving Johns Hopkins University and Harvard & Smithsonian teams. Technological development incorporated standards from International Astronomical Union working groups and software collaborations with Space Telescope Science Institute engineering groups and STScI-affiliated researchers.
MAST houses heterogeneous collections spanning imaging, spectroscopy, time-series photometry, and calibrated catalog products from missions such as Hubble Space Telescope, Kepler, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, Galaxy Evolution Explorer, International Ultraviolet Explorer, and archival datasets linked to observatories like Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton via cross-archive links. Holdings include calibrated exposures, high-level science products produced by teams at Carnegie Institution for Science, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, University of California, Santa Cruz, and instrument consortia from Ball Aerospace and Northrop Grumman. Ancillary collections feature catalogs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, cross-identifications with Gaia, and time-domain alerts associated with surveys conducted by Zwicky Transient Facility and follow-up programs at institutions like Caltech and European Southern Observatory.
MAST provides web-based and programmatic services including a portal, application programming interfaces developed using standards from International Virtual Observatory Alliance, visualization tools interoperable with software from Astropy Project, Topcat, and integrations with data reduction pipelines used by teams at Space Telescope Science Institute, STScI, and instrument teams at University of Arizona and Pennsylvania State University. Specialized tools include spectral extraction services co-developed with groups at Johns Hopkins University and time-series analysis utilities used by Kepler and TESS science teams. MAST supports data provenance and citation practices aligned with publishers such as American Astronomical Society and repositories like Zenodo via metadata implemented by librarians from Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Johns Hopkins University.
Users access MAST holdings through graphical interfaces, VO protocols, and APIs that enable bulk retrieval and programmatic queries developed in consultation with teams at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Telescope Science Institute, and external partners including European Space Agency Science Archive Facility. Distribution methods accommodate high-volume transfers using services similar to those at NASA Center for Climate Simulation and integrate authentication and proprietary period management coordinated with mission principal investigators at Caltech, MIT, and University of Colorado Boulder. MAST supports data packaging for publication in journals such as The Astrophysical Journal and archival submission workflows followed by consortia like TESS Science Team and Kepler Science Office.
MAST data have enabled landmark results from teams affiliated with Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Cambridge including discoveries of exoplanets from Kepler and TESS, studies of galaxy evolution using Hubble Space Telescope and GALEX data, and stellar astrophysics analyses leveraging cross-matches with Gaia. Major community projects relying on MAST include large archival programs coordinated with Space Telescope Science Institute directorates, multi-wavelength surveys partnering with European Southern Observatory and Chandra X-ray Center, and citizen science initiatives linked to Zooniverse and teams at Oxford University and University of Washington.
MAST operates under the auspices of the Space Telescope Science Institute and collaborates with a network of partners including NASA, European Space Agency, National Science Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, Caltech, Carnegie Institution for Science, Max Planck Society, Smithsonian Institution, and software partners from the Astropy Project community. Governance and advisory input come from panels with representation from institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, University of Chicago, University of Oxford, and mission teams at Ball Aerospace and Lockheed Martin.