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In one sentence

The Research Platform is a ready-to-use science computing workspace in the cloud. You open it in your web browser, and you can write and run code, use large amounts of data, and work with AI help — without buying, building, or maintaining any computers.

It is a service inside the Science Cloud. You log in with the same Science Cloud identity you use for other Science Cloud services.

The short version

You log in and you get your own notebook workspace. (A notebook is a web page where you write code, run it, and see the results and charts next to the code.) Your files are saved for you. Your team can share data. If your work is too big for one machine, the platform gives you more machines. When you stop, the machines stop, and the cost stops.

Everything happens in the browser at rp.sciencecloud.nasa.gov. There is nothing to install on your laptop.

Who can use it

The Research Platform is open to any SMD-funded project. (SMD is NASA's Science Mission Directorate.) A project admin asks for a project, then adds the members of the team. See How to get access.

What problem it solves

Science teams used to do this work themselves:

What you get

• Your own workspace. Private files, and science software already installed.
• A size choice. You pick how much computer power you need when you start, from 4 GB up to 64 GB of memory.
• Team storage. Space that only your project can see, plus your own private space.
• More power on demand. The platform can spread one big job over many machines.
• Background jobs. Send a long notebook to run on its own, and keep working meanwhile.
• Working together. Two or more members can edit the same notebook at the same time.
• AI help. An assistant inside the workspace, plus a catalog of approved AI tools.
• Cost visibility. You see your own spend and what is left of your budget.

Each of these has its own page. Start with How to use the platform.

Who runs it, and who pays

• A project admin (the person who runs a research project and its money) asks for a project, and adds members.
• The platform team runs the service, keeps it secure, and reports the cost.
• The project pays for what its members use. See How you pay for it.

The four parts (plain names)

You will hear these four names. You only touch the first one day to day.

What data you can put on it

The Research Platform is FISMA Low today. FISMA is the US law that sets the security level for federal systems. "Low" is the level for data where a security problem would have only a limited effect.

So: put only FISMA Low data on the platform today. Do not put data that needs a higher level of protection.

The team is working to offer FISMA Moderate and ITAR support in the future. (ITAR is the US rule for export-controlled defense-related data.) When that work is finished, this page will say so.

Where to go next