Data product types

When an observation is made by an instrument, a raw data product is created. Often, additional processing is applied, resulting in one or more partially processed, calibrated, or derived products. Data providers sometimes classify the content of these data product by assigning a product type.

For example, below are a Curiosity left Front Hazcam raw data product (left) and one of the derived products (raw) created from the raw product. The left image has the product type EDR. The right image has the product type RAD to indicate that it has been linearized and radiometrically corrected to absolute radiance units.

The number and types of data products depends on the instrument. In addition, all derived product types may not be created for a given raw product.

A list of data product types for InSight, Mars 2020, MER, and MSL missions is available.

How product types are handled in the Notebook

In general, only one data product is shown in the Notebook for a given observation. Displaying all product types would be too confusing. A primary product type has been selected for each instrument. The sol listings and most searches show this primary product in the results. You can access specific product types by specifying the product type(s) of interest in the data search form.

When data products are added to the cart, only the primary products are added by default. If you wish to download all product types for the products in your cart, you can change the cart settings at checkout and the additional product types will be added automatically.

References

See the File naming help for a list of data product types and their nominal meaning.

For detailed information on the format of product types and how they are created, refer to the EDR and RDR data product SIS (Software Interface Specification) documents. These can be found from the Resources tab under Mission and instrument data set documents (for MSL, MERA, and MERB).

Final note

It is more accurate to say that raw data products (EDRs) are created from the rover telemetry stream sent to Earth receiving stations. Some derived products (RDRs) are created on the rover and others are created on Earth. The general concept outlined above is simplified for clarity.