The European SPACIOUS project, funded with 1.9 million to manage massive data in space science

• SPACIOUS will establish a new technological scenario to facilitate more efficient exploitation of massive datasets with analysis methodologies that exceed current expectations
• The project will be instrumental in the Gaia and Euclid space missions, both of the European Space Agency and with prominent participation of IEEC researchers
• SPACIOUS is led by Xavier Luri, director of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences and member of the IEEC

Addressing strategic research issues in astrophysics, improving knowledge of our galaxy and the cosmos, and boosting the European space sector at the forefront of astrophysics are the reference axes of the SPACIOUS project. This project is funded with 1.9 million euros by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and is coordinated by Xavier Luri, director of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and member of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya). Luri is also professor at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Barcelona.

SPACIOUS (Science PlAtform Cloud Infrastructure for Outsize Usage Scenarios), which will be conducted from January 2024 to December 2027, aims to become a turning point for exploiting scientific data from space missions more efficiently, through a new computational framework in astrophysics based on big data and data mining technologies. With this innovative approach, the project will be helpful in space science to handle the growing volume of highly complex data from space missions such as Gaia, the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) flagship project for stellar mapping of our galaxy, or the recently launched Euclid—also ESA—, dedicated to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe. This initiative will promote unified access to scientific data, infrastructures, tools and methodologies that analyse information from space projects.

Since its beginnings, Gaia has involved a team of astronomers and engineers from the IEEC at the ICCUB, led by researchers Carme Jordi, Xavier Luri and Francesca Figueras. “The SPACIOUS project will be immediately applied to the management of data from the Gaia mission, which has reached tens of terabytes today and will reach hundreds of terabytes soon,” says Luri.

This new European project will also be applied immediately to Euclid, which will observe billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away to create the most accurate and extensive 3D map of the Universe. The IEEC also has a prominent role in this mission, with a scientific team led by Francisco J. Castander and Pablo Fosalba, both IEEC researchers at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC). In addition, Castander is the head of the Euclid consortium at the Spanish level.

SPACIOUS: a new technological scenario

In such a highly competitive international environment, SPACIOUS will establish a new technological scenario to facilitate more efficient exploitation of massive datasets with analysis methodologies that exceed current expectations.

“SPACIOUS aims to combine existing technologies in a new big data and data mining environment to enable the analysis of ESA mission data to a level that is not possible with traditional means of analysis. And all this in parallel with the progress of our own astrophysical research and the management of the data available from the Gaia and Euclid missions,” says Xavier Luri.

The project aims to achieve a significant scientific and technological impact for society and the economy as a whole. In its most scientific aspect, the most outstanding impacts will be reflected in an increase in the number of scientific products and publications in astrophysics based on the exploitation of massive datasets.

On the more technological side, the project will facilitate an increasing number of institutions and researchers with advanced data processing capabilities and scientific teams exploiting ESA data, especially from the Gaia and Euclid missions. In addition to generating promotions of scientists and engineers with relevant skills in data analytics and big data, SPACIOUS will also enhance the transfer of technological solutions to the private sector for the benefit of the overall EU economy.

SPACIOUS is the result of scientific cooperation between the University of Barcelona, the University of A Coruña (UDC), the University of Edinburgh (UEDIN, UK), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Centre for Astrophysics and Gravitation (CENTRA, Portugal) and the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań (UAM, Poland).

Press release prepared in collaboration with the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences.

Links

• IEEC
• ICCUB
• ICE-CSIC
• Gaia
• Euclid

Contacts

About the IEEC

The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of more than 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centres, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.

The IEEC is a non-profit public sector foundation that was established in February 1996. It has a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The IEEC is also a CERCA centre.