The Heliophysics Digital Resource Library (HDRL) brings together NASA's solar and space physics data into a cohesive, interoperable system. Built on decades of research and designed for tomorrow’s missions, HDRL enables efficient access, analysis, and reuse of critical datasets. It supports space weather forecasting, long-term science, and public transparency. Whether you're protecting astronauts, powering AI models, or forecasting threats to space-based and ground-based assets, HDRL makes it possible. HDRL is a key part of the engine behind the HelioSystems Laboratory.
HDRL supports the infrastructure behind space weather resilience-helping secure U.S. satellites, crewed exploration, GPS, and communication systems. It plays a vital role in keeping critical technology running during solar storms and contributes to operational space-based defense systems through real-time solar intelligence.
Three key components and a suite of integrated tools comprise HDRL, supporting discovery, forecasting, modeling, and innovation. It provides seamless access to NASA’s entire heliophysics archive. HDRL delivers scalable, efficient digital infrastructure that supports America’s leadership in deep exploration, defense readiness, and the technology-driven economy.
The SDAC supports the analysis of solar physics data. The SDAC stores and provides data from NASA’s solar physics missions. SDAC supports visualization tools (including Helioviewer), the SolarSoft software library used for data analysis, and the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) discovery service to search and download solar physics.
The SPDF is NASA’s archive for non-solar heliophysics data from heliophysics missions. These data are retrieved from in situ measurements of plasma, energetic particles, magnetic and electric fields, radio and plasma waves. SPDF maintains the CDAWeb data explorer and plotting system, the SSCWeb database of spacecraft trajectories with 4D orbit viewer capabilities, the OMNIWeb database, and the Common Data Format (CDF) data format and associated software.
HDMC supports the development of software and services to help promote greater synergy between SDAC, SPDF and the larger heliophysics community. It serves as a catalyst for carrying out HDRL’s mission to yield the greatest value of research from NASA’s heliophysics missions. HDMC supports initiatives in open science and community outreach including support for collaborators such as PyHC, SPEDAS, Autoplot, and HelioCloud.
The Heliophysics Data Portal provides open access to NASA’s collection of heliophysics science data, empowering researchers and decision makers to better understand the Sun-Earth system and protect our technological society.
These tools are powered by or contribute to HDRL's mission, enabling advanced research and applications.
Helioviewer is a web-based data visualization tool supported by NASA's Solar Data Analysis Center. It's like using a map app on the Sun!
This interactive 4D Orbit Viewer supported by SPDF showcases the locations and orbits of over 100 spacecraft and planets as 3-D animations, with time added as a 4th dimension.
HelioCloud is a time-saving, cloud-based tool for heliophysics researchers to rapidly access and analyze high-volume datasets from a web browser.
SolarSoft is an analysis and processing environment for solar physics data primarily in the IDL programming language. SunPy is a community-developed, free and open-source solar data analysis environment for Python.
Space Physics Environment Data Analysis Software (SPEDAS) is a publicly shared analysis library for space physics data written in the IDL programming language. pySPEDAS is a Python version.
Python in Heliophysics Community promotes the use and development of sustainable Python software across solar and space physics, provides tutorials and resources, improves communication and collaboration between developers and users.
From national security to academic research, commercial space to public education-HDRL supports the systems, people, and missions that keep society connected and protected.
HDRL is where space weather data becomes actionable knowledge for science community and public.
The HDRL transforms NASA mission data into national resilience-powering forecasts, AI, and alerts that protect satellites, astronauts, and critical infrastructure.
Space weather is a top natural risk for Moon to Mars missions. HDRL supports safety from launch to landing.
HDRL turns mission data into action-fueling AI models, forecasts, and discovery across NASA and beyond.