The Software Legacy of the Planck Mission
The Planck mission to survey the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) has not only advanced our understanding of the Universe, it also created advanced software systems for data analysis. Three interrelated software packages, which were developed at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) specifically for the Planck mission, are now publicly available for use in other projects: the basic Planck simulation package to generate mock observations with Planck and other CMB experiments, the “ProC” workflow engine to define and execute scientific data analysis workflows, and the data management component “DMC” to store and organize the results of complex data processes.
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![Fig.1: The ProC workflow engine automates recurring data processes running on single machines or even on supercomputers. Together with the data management compontent it tracks and documents the changes made to data, allowing full retraceablity.](/521723/original-1518444123.jpg?t=eyJ3aWR0aCI6MjQ2LCJvYmpfaWQiOjUyMTcyM30%3D--1809139a34e1749922d016cb5be59ea3d9bfa265)
![Fig.2: The graphical editor allows the easy defintion of workflows. It supports the use of loops, conditions and recursion. Parameters of the incorporated programs can be defined here.](/521732/original-1518444124.jpg?t=eyJ3aWR0aCI6MjQ2LCJvYmpfaWQiOjUyMTczMn0%3D--2a620a19429bdbbc58f945f5a1ddb6e970496a88)
![Fig.3: The data management component allows access to the data without knowledge of the database backends. Data can be visualized and exported. Also the creation history of a data product can be followed here.](/521741/original-1518444124.jpg?t=eyJ3aWR0aCI6MjQ2LCJvYmpfaWQiOjUyMTc0MX0%3D--20717618418508dad1e6596e715b8576fded3fdd)