Poster Abstract

P.3 Clara Brasseur (Space Telescope Science Institute)

MAST APIs: Present to Future

(Talk coauthored with Tom Donaldson)

The Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) supports a variety of methods for programmatic data access. In this talk we will first discuss the current status of the three most important: Astroquery, VO/TAP, and CasJobs. We will then explore the future of MAST APIs into the era of JWST, WFIRST, and beyond.

We will compare and contrast the three main MAST APIs and discuss the main use cases for each, focusing particularly on how users can successfully choose the best interface for their needs. We will then explore the evolution of the MAST API landscape moving forwards. To this end we will discuss field/mission specific APIs, process at home vs. process at MAST, the future of VO/TAP, and community supported pipelines. We will explore these concepts generally and with specific reference to current and future missions such as TESS, JWST, and WFIRST.