FinalReport

Issued:5June2015

Organising Committee (WOC):

Nicolas Manaud (Coconvener, ESAC),Angelo Pio Rossi(Coconvener,
Jacobs University Bremen), Trent Hare (USGS), Stephan Van Gasselt (FU Berlin), Baptiste Cecconi
(Observatoire ParisMeudon), Santa Martinez (ESAC), Jonathan McAuliffe (ESAC),Bruno Merin(ESAC),
IsaBarbarisi(ESAC),DaveHeather(ESAC),GuidoDeMarchi(ESTEC)andAlbaAlcol(Secretary,ESAC)

Table of Contents

WorkshopSummary
OutcomesandRecommendations
CommunityEvaluation
FutureWorkshops
OnlineCommunity
References

Appendix:ParticipantsFeedback
Inputsfromonlinesurvey(31responses)
Howdoyouoverallevaluatetheworkshop?
Howusefulforyourworkwerethedifferentsessions?
WouldyouliketoseesuchaworkshopperiodicallyheldatESAC?
Wouldbeanonlineparticipationtofutureworkshop(e.g.webex)anoptionfor
you?
Wouldyouplantodiscussandsharefurtherwiththeparticipantsandbeyond
documentation,code,resourcesinthenearfuture?
Additionalinputsextractedfromdiscussionsonlastdayofworkshop

Workshop Summary
ESA'sfirstPlanetaryGISWorkshoptookplacefromMay5thto7thatESA'sESAC
establishmentnearMadrid.Thisreportcontainsbothinputcollectedandcondensedduring
theworkshopandpostworkshopsurveyresults.Theentirecombinedreportispublicly
availableandithasalsobeensubmittedtothePSAUserGroup[1]andESAsPSAfor
furtherprocessingandevaluation.
TheobjectivesoftheWorkshopincluded:
Evaluationof

the
stateofartinmappingandvisualizationofplanetary
geospatialdata
identification(andsharing)ofprospectivescientificusecasesandtechnologies
Identificationof
the

geospatialmappingcommunityandcapacitybuildingat
European
level
Facilitationofpossiblefutureopen,collaborative,communitydrivenplanetary
dataexploitationefforts
Theuseofgeospatialstandardsandtheapproachandtoolsfornontraditional
applications
.
Over

80participantsfromover40institutionsin12countries(includingUSA,Russiaand
China)joinedtheworkshop,mainlyfromthesurfacesciencesubcommunity(geology,
geographyandcartography,~80%),theatmosphericsciencecommunity(~10%),andfrom
magnetosphericandplasmaphysics(~10%).Thelistofparticipantsisreportedin[2].Actors
representedattheworkshopinclude:datausers,dataproducers(e.g.fromexperiment
teams),dataproviders/archivers,softwaredevelopers(mainlylinkedtodata
producer/providercategories).Theentireworkshopprogrammeandmaterials(presentations,
videorecordings[3],handsonaidmaterial,etc.)areavailabletothecommunityonthe
PSAmaintainedwiki[4].
Theworkshopstructureconsistedof:anintroductorysessionwithexperttalks,handson
sessionswithcontentsshapedaccordingtoapreworkshopsurvey,andanopensession
withshorttalksonawiderangeoftopics,leadingtothreeseparatenonplenarytracks.The
finalmorningtooktheformofageneraldiscussionofthevarioustrackresults,workshop
outcomesandpossiblefutureactivities.

Outcomes and Recommendations

Community Evaluation
Theoverallinitiative,topicalandorganizationalaspectsoftheworkshopwerepositively
evaluatedbyparticipants.Themixtureoflectureandunconferenceformatwasverywell
received.Oneofthemainresults

oftheworkshop,highlightedbyparticipants,wasthatit
facilitatednewcooperation,networkingandsharingofknowledge.
Moretime,fortheOpenSession,Handsonandnonplenarytrackswouldbepreferablefor
futureworkshopsofthiskind.Handsonandtracksinparticularmighthavebenefitedfroma
longer(halfdayperhandson)duration.Theneedforaspecificplanetarygeologicalmapping
trackhasalsobeenhighlightedbyseveralparticipants.

Ingeneral,toaccommodatethelongersessions,anadditionalfulldayforsuchaworkshop
couldbeadded.

Future Workshops
Participantshaveclearlyexpressedtheneedforperiodicworkshopsofthiskind(~95%)tobe
heldatESAC.Needsstronglyexpressedbyparticipantsinclude:longerhandsons(~1day),
longeropensessionanddedicatedtracksforgeologicalmapping,addressingnewchallenges
andsolvingproblemswiththeinvolvementofsoftwaredevelopers.

Online Community
90%oftheparticipantswhorespondedthesurveyhaveclearlyexpressedthedesireto
discussandsharefurtherinthenearfutureamongtheparticipantsandbeyond.Onedirect
outcomeoftheworkshopisaninitialcommunitydriveneffort(1)tostayconnectedandshare
informationrelatedtoandbeyondthisworkshop(2)toworkoutonlinesolutionsforallto
shareknowledge,resources,code,toolsandservices(e.g.forums,wiki,stackexchange,
github,etc.)(3)toorganiseonlineeventssuchastooldemosandsurveys,hackathonsand
tutorials,ortopicaldiscussionsasafollowupofthe(tooshort)opensessionattheworkshop
(andinanticipationofthenextworkshops,orconferencesplinters).
ThecoretargetcommunityforaPlanetaryGIS/Mappingworkshop(series)isthesurface
scienceone.Howeversuchtypeofworkshopwouldbealsovaluableforneighboring
communities.Inthisrespect,discussionanddevelopmentofusecasesbeyondsurface
scienceinvestigationsisneeded.Also,othercommunities(atmospheres,plasma,
magnetospheres,etc.)mightneedadditional,dedicatedspaces/workshopsandthiscouldbe
addressedwiththerespectivecommunitiesandthroughthePSAUG.Inallcases,surveys
andlistingsofavailableandupcomingtoolsofrelevanceforplanetarydataanalysisare
desirable.
ThiseffortiscurrentlyandtemporarilydrivenbytheWorkshopOrganizingCommittee(WOC),
whichisengagingwithallparticipantstocontributetodiscussionsusinganonlineteam
communicationtool,calledSlack[5].Amongtheparticipants,dataprovidersareseentoplay
animportantroleinparticipatingtothisinitiative.Inaddition,ESAC/PSAcouldprovidesome
servicesinthatdirectionespeciallythemaintenanceandcontinuoususeoftheWorkshop
Wikicouldbevaluableasamorelongtermcuratedknowledgebase.

References
[1]PSAUGwebsite:
http://www.sciops.esa.int/index.php?project=PSA&page=psaug
[2]Listofworkshopparticipants,includingWorkshopOrganizingCommittee:
https://issues.cosmos.esa.int/psawiki/display/GISWS/Participants
[3]WorkshopYouTubechannel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnI_6ucOIvZ75NSNLf6jMw
[4]Workshopprogramme:
https://issues.cosmos.esa.int/psawiki/display/GISWS/Programme
[5]WorkshopSlack:
https://openplanetary.slack.com

Appendix: Participants Feedback

Inputs from online survey (31 responses)
How do you overall evaluate the workshop?
Programme

Information

Logistics

Venue

Comments
Notenoughtimefortracksorcouldnotfollowmultipletracks.GreatworkwithSlack.
VerygoodinterestandenthusiasmaboutGISanditspotentialcapabilities.There
weregoodpresentationsontheoverviewofthesubject.Iwouldhavelikedmuchmore
handsonexperience,whereatleastoneofthedayswasdedicatedtolearningto
workwithsoftware(ArcGISorQGIS),goingbeyondanintroduction.
Iwouldliketoseemoreposterintheworkshop.
Absolutelyaworkshoptobedoneagaininthefuture!Greatworkhavebeendonefor
thecommunitybuilding.EvenifIdidnottookparttoday3,Ifeltlikebeingpartofthe
groupsincethebeginning,greatworkbytheWOC!Effortstocreateacommunity
involvingthelargerandmixedpopulationpossiblehavebeensignificantly
appreciated.
Goodthings:organisationingeneralwasawesome,althoughIonlywent1day.I
enjoyedalot,peoplewasfriendly(ingeneralP)Badthings:thetrackswereabit
unorganised,intrackBwesufferedalittlebitwiththedemos,soIthinkthathaving
veryclearthecontentsofthistrackwouldhavebeenuseful(andperhapsmoretime!
ortocreatesubgroups)
Toomuchgoodstuff,littletime.NexttimeIwouldliketohavemorestructuredtracks
(notaprogrambutguidelinebeforehand?).
TheWSwaswellorganised,butIthinkthatitdeservedatleastonemoredaytospan
allthefields.Handsonandtracksshouldhavebeendividedintotwoseparatedays.
Veryinteresting,nicemixofdatadetailsandusecases.Presentationsonlineare
useful,asarethelistoftoolspresented.
Theworkshopwasgenerallyexcellent,althoughitseemliketheprogrammecould
havebeenmorespreadoutoverafewmoredays.Iunderstandtheneedto
generaliseorquicklyskimthetopicsbecauseitwasthefirstworkshopofit'skindbut
Ithinkalotofpeopledidn'thavetimetoparticipateinsomeaspects(e.g.thehands
on)becauseitmovedalittletoofasttofiteverythingin.
Withthevenue,Icannotreallyevaluateit.IliveinMadridandIcamebymyowncar.
Imissedtimefordiscussiongroups.IntheendIdidnothavemuchtimetodiscuss
withpeoplerelevanttomywork.
Verygoodturnoutandparticipation.GoodtalksonGIShappenings.More
demonstrationswillbeusefultogetbetterunderstandingavailablecapabilities.Would
begoodtoidentifywhataretheGISchallenges,whatmightbethesolutions.If
solutionsnotavailable,perhapsestablishworkinggroup(s)toprovidesolution.Thank
youforhostingtheevent.Itwasveryusefulandwellrunconsideringthisisthefirst
one.Iappreciateyouorganizingthis.Andlookforwardtofutureones.

How useful for your work were the different sessions?

Introduction Session

Handson

OpenSession

CommunityBuilding

Comments
TheHandsonfeltabitarushedanditwasdifficulttoreallygetanunderstandingof
thetoolsifyouwerenotabletokeepdueto,forexample,sometechnicalerror.
Aplanetarymappingtrackwouldbehelpfulnexttimetosharetechnicalexperiences
onmapping.Thethemeofthetrackswereveryinterestingbuttherewasfewtimeto
concentrateonandfollowmorethanonetrack.
Althoughitwasveryusefulformethehandsonsession,maybeitwouldbebetterto
focusinoneandnewuseofthetools,insteadofknowingthegeneralworkingofthe
software.
Thisworkshopshowedhowfragmentedthecommunityisinfacingthesame
problems,bydevelopingtimeandagainadhocsolutionsforasingleclassofdata
withoutthecapabilitytoabsorbnewdatasets.IsubscribetowhatJonathanjoked
aboutinhiscartoononthefutilityoftryingtodevelopasingleuniversalstandardfor
planetarydata,butanefforttoconsolidatestrategies,todevelopcommonalitiesandto
enforcecompatibilityofstandardsneedstobedone.Thisworkshopcouldbethe
placetodoit.
thehandsonandtheopensessionneedsmoretime
IfelttheOpenSessionswereveryproductive,butIthinkwecouldhavespentawhole
dayonthem,atleastinthetrackIwasin(C).Somesubjectswereonlybrieflytouched
onandthediscussionhadtocontinueinformally,withoutgroupinput,afterthe
session.AsmentionedinthepreviousquestionIthinkthehandsoncouldhavealso
eitherbeenmorefocussedorallowedmoretimeforuserstokeeppace.Therewas
however,greatsupportforthehandson,withprepreparedVMsreadyforallan
excellentidea!Althoughsomeusersdidexperiencetechnicalissues(e.g.getting
internetconnectivityintheirVM)itcouldhavebeenmuchworse!
Probablyfewertopics/presentations,butmoredetailedwithexamples.Someofthe
talks,whileinteresting,presentedgoodideasbutwithoutalotofspecificsonhowto
accomplishthem.
TheIntroductionSessionshowedtheverystateoftheartofthetopic.Handson
sessionsufferedfromthemalfunctionofVirtualMachines,butshowedveryuseful
cases.OpenSessions(inparticularTracks)weretoodispersive,thuslimitingthe
possibilitytofollowdifferenttopics.DemoToolsTrackwasnotplannedinorderto
showallthetoolsandcouldhavemaybemergedwithUseCasesTrack(atleast).
Maybeinthefuturethe4minutepresentationscouldbecanceled,thusimprovingtime
fortracks,sothattheycouldbenotparallel.Duringtheworkshopthepossibilityoftalk
withcolleaguesgreatlyimprovedthepossibilityofnewcollaborations.
Inmyopinionthesameprogrammeshouldhavebeendonewith1moreday.Too
densesessionsandtalksnotallowingforthediscussionwithinthesessionand
limitingitaftereachtalk.Onemoredaycouldalsoallowformoreroomforthe
user/scientificcases(whichit's50%oftheGISworld).E.g:Day1:
Software/Tools/Developerscontributions(includingtopicallightningtalks).Day2:
Sciencecasesanduserorientedcontributions(GISsoftware/toolsareuselesswithout
users!).Day3:Handson(halfdaytoArcMap,halftoQGIS).Day4:Community
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buildingandOpensessions.LightningtalksareagoodideabutIcan'testimatehow
muchtheycontributedtotheworkshopaim.Handsonhaveprovedveryusefulto
allowpracticalexamplesbutagain,toodenseand,especiallyforthenewuser,too
fast.
Handonsessionlonger
(exceptthevirtualmachineswhichruinedmycomputer).Thecadencewasreally
fast,butIthinkthisisafactorofsuccessinthiscasenotimetoreadmailordo
somethingelse.
Allowparticipantstobringchallengeandusehandsonopportunitiestodemonstrate
solutions.Moreopportunitiesandtimetosharetoolsandknowledge.
Handsonwasuseful,lesstechnicalproblemsthantherecouldhavebeen.Ihadafew
issues,butmanagedtofollowwhatwasgoingonandlearnedafewusefulthings.
Trackspotentiallyuseful,maybenotfordemoingtoolsthough,coulduseaseparate
timeslotforthat,ormaketoolsanduserguidesavailablebeforethemeetingsoyou
cangettogripswiththemandmakemoreinformeddecisions.Discussiononaims,
challenges,waysaroundchallenges,etc,whicharecommontoallmayhavebeen
useful.
Opensessiontooshortand,ontheotherhandsometimeoverlappingeachother,
Thehandsonsessionwastooshort.Ifyougotbehinditwasimpossibletocatchback
up.Itwouldhavebeenhelpfultohaveastepbystepsetofinstructionsforthe
handsondemostohelpkeepupwiththepresentation.Isuggestthatsometimebe
addedattheendofeachsectionofthelightningtalksfordiscussionofthepreceding
talks.

10

Would you like to see such a workshop periodically held at ESAC?

Comments
Yesplease!
Youmaywanttochangethefocusfromoneworkshoptothenext.ThecentralthemeI
thinkistoimprovetheaccessandusagetothePSA,whichcertainlymeansserving
thesurface/GIScommunity,butnotonly.Crosscommunitytopics
(surface/atmosphere,etc+egworkflowstoprocessatmosphericdatausingreference
databasesofgases)arecertainlyofinterest.Jointanalysisofspaceborne&related
telescopicdatamaybeanothertopic.
Thelocalarrangementswereverygood.Theorganizerswereveryhelpful.
Anyearlyworkshopwouldbeprecioustohavethepointofthesituation.
Eachyear!MaybemovingbetweenESTEC/ESAC/ESRIN.
IthinkitisinterestingeventhoughIwouldprobablynotattendanothertime.Forno
particularreasonotherthanitisnotreallymyfieldandIattendedthefirstonemore
outofcuriositythanrealneedofsuchevent.

11

Would be an online participation to future workshop (e.g. webex) an option

for you?

Comments:
Thiswouldbebeneficialwhentravelisnotpractical.
Thenatureoftheworkshopwasveryweb/cloudbased,soonlineparticipationseems
likeitcouldworkok,aslongasthesoftwaremadeiteasy(AdobeConnect?).
Yes,itwouldallowmorepeopletoparticipate.
Meetingandtalkingtotheattendeeswasveryuseful.
Thepossibilityofparticipatingonlinewouldbeimportanttoallowaneasywaytofollow
themeeting.Howeveritwouldprobablyaffectthecommunitybuildingcapabilitiesand
thereforeitcouldbepreferredtobethereinloco(especiallyifitisonceayear).
Asanoption.Butphysicalgatheringwithsuchalargescopewascertainlybeneficial.
Onlineparticipationispossible.Howeverthevalueoffacetofaceconnection,
handson/demoparticipationareveryvaluable.Iwouldencouragefutureworkshopsto
beinperson.
Justasabackupsolutionincaseofimpossibilitytoattend

12

Would you plan to discuss and share further - with the participants and
beyond - documentation, code, resources in the near future?

Comments:
IwillwriteausercaseforMARSISdatawithintheVESPAframework.
AsnoteverybodywasabletogotoseethedemosinTrackB,itcouldbeinterestingif
thedemonstratorswhowanttoshowofftheirtoolcreateavideodemonstrationand
uploadittoe.g.slack,fromwherefurtherfeedbackanddiscussionscouldtakeplace
outsideofthephysicalworkshop.
IamstillusingSlackandIgotincontactwiththeplanetarymappersthatwerepresent
attheworkshop.Weplantokeepincontactthroughmailinglists/forums/slacktohelp
eachotherandbuildastrongerplanetarymappingcommunityforthefuture.
Firstly,throughSlack.Therewasalsosignificantdiscussionaboutstartingasome
kindofPlanetaryGISUsersGroup/Forum.Thatwouldbeafocalpointforthiskindof
workandmanymembersofthecommunityexpressedinterest.
IdidalotofnetworkingthereandI'mcurrentlyincontactwithsomepeople.Very
happyaboutthat!Thankyouforthegreatevent!
IwouldliketoparticipateintheGeographicInformationSystemsStackExchange
forum,andintheslacktooloftheworkshop.
WewillcertainlytrytoimplementanaccesstoWMSto3DViewtool,discussonsome
spicewithBoris.ButforsurewewillgivesomesupporttojonathanforBepiColombo
Venusflybysandmaybemore.
SharingdocumentationandcodeiswhathelpstheGIScommunitythemost.The
softwareandcapabilitiesaretoobroadtotrytoapproachlearningGISbyone'sself.
Yes,butwithaverysmallgroupduetonotoverlappingofinterests
Ofcoursethepossibilityofdevelopnewtaskstogetherwouldbeofcapitalimportance
toproceedthroughthesamepath.
Associatingtheinstrument/missionworkshopsassplinterstothiskindofmeetingmay
beanoption,toinsuresufficientparticipation(eg:itwassofarimpossibletoget

13

sufficientattendancetotheVExworkshopstomakethemhappenthismaybecome
possibleinthiscontext).
Haveconnectedmultipleparticipantsthathavefurthercommunicationtoshare
resources/data.

Additional inputs extracted from discussions on last day of workshop

AdditionallysomeadditionalpointshavebeenraisedbypanelmembersintheCommunity
BuildingSession:
Understandingscientificneeds/usecasesisimportantalsoatworkshopplanning
stage.
NeighboringcommunitiescanalsobenefitfromGIS,butitisnotthesolutiontoall
disciplines(e.gallatmosphericscience).Inthisrespect,similardatafusion
frameworksforotherdisciplinesshouldbeaddressed(i.e.effectivelywithmultiple
heterogeneousdatasets)
Needfordisciplinebasedworkshops(e.g.surfaces,atmospheres,plasmas)vs.
dataset/experimentbasedones(thoseexistingsofar,withtheexceptionofthis
workshop
Futureworkshopscouldbebotheitherthesametopic(GIS)oronnewones(e.g.
atmosphericscienceandtools).
CommunitybuildingsplintersoralikecouldbeheldatEPSC,EGUaswell,providing
additionalsmallervenuesforthecommunitiesoftheESACGISworkshop
Amoderatedlistoftools/servicesregistrywouldbeuseful(e.g.ESA,PDS,IPDA)
Thereistheneedforsciencereadydatainthearchives(higherlevelproducts):this
needstheinvolvement/engagementofPIteams(andESA)
Needtohavebothagencydevelopedtools,anddataproducerdevelopedtools,in
additiontocommunity(user)developedtools,usingexisting/developingprotocols
(e.g.PDAP,EPNTAP)
Gettingmoreinteractivitywithin/for/fromtheseworkshops:(forumonwebsites,more
interactivitye.g.wikipresentationsusefulforarchivers)
PSAisdevelopingaWebGISinterfacetoPSA.AsubsequentGISworkshopcould
allowuserstotestandprovidefeedback
Needformakingiteasyfordataproducerstobecomedataprovidersbysharing
peerreviewedderiveddataproductsusingexisting/developingprotocols.

Moreover,participantssuggestedadditionaltopicsforaneventualfurtheriterationofthe
workshop,namely:
GIS&irregularbodiesgeometries(theminorbodiescommunityanditsGISlike
mappingneedsandchallengeswerenotveryrepresentedattheworkshop)
GIS&space/timevariabledata,3D,4D.Thepossibleneedforabroaderparticipation
fromminorbodies.

14