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Draft for review. This page is under review before the Operational Readiness Review. Panels marked as open questions are still waiting for an answer. Send corrections to the Research Platform team. |
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Read time: 3 minutes. No technical knowledge needed. Status: the The Research Platform is live . It has been operational since 15 August 2026. It is fully supported. The team adds new features and improves existing ones all the time. |
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and fully supported as of August 15, 2026. Our team continuously updates the platform with new features and improvements. |
The Bottom Line:
The Research Platform is a ready-to-use cloud workspace for science computing
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. You
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access it
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through your web browser
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at rp.sciencecloud.nasa.gov using your standard Science Cloud login. There is nothing to install.
When you log in, you get a personal notebook workspace—a single web page where you can write code, process large amounts of data, view charts, and use AI tools.
- Easy sharing: Your files save automatically, and you can easily share data with your team.
- Power on demand: You don't need to buy or maintain hardware. If a job is too big
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
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- , the platform gives you more
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- computing power.
- Cost control: When you
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- finish working, the machines
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- turn off, and you stop paying immediately.
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Who can use
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the Research Platform?
Any Science Mission Directorate (SMD)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. can use the Research Platform. To get started, a project admin requests a workspace. Once approved, they can add their team members. See How to get access.
What problem it solves
Science teams used to do this work themselves:
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Why use the platform?
Previously, science teams had to manage their own computing environments. The Research Platform handles the heavy lifting for you:
| The Old Way |
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| On the Research Platform |
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| Request cloud accounts |
| and build servers | Log in and start working in minutes |
| Install Python, libraries, and drivers by hand |
| Essential science software is pre-installed |
| Copy data files between laptops |
| Keep data in shared team storage |
| with secure access rules |
| Guess what the |
| computing costs will be |
| Track your |
| usage and |
| remaining budget in |
| real time |
| Buy |
| expensive machines for temporary big jobs | Get more computing power instantly, only when you need it |
| Set up your own AI tools and API keys | Approved AI |
| assistants are built right in |
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What
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's included in the Research Platform?
- Personal workspace: Private file storage with essential science software pre-installed.
- Flexible power: Choose how much memory you need (
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- from 4 GB up to 64 GB
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- ) every time you start.
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- Shared team storage: Secure folders visible only to your project members.
- Power on demand: Spread a single massive job across multiple machines when needed.
- Background processing: Set
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- a long notebook to run on its own
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- while you work on other tasks.
- Real-time collaboration: Edit
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- the same notebook at the exact same time as your teammates.
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- Built-in AI: Use an in-workspace AI assistant and access a catalog of approved
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- tools.
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- Clear budgets: Always know what you've spent and what's left in the project budget.
Want to learn more? You can read the detailed guide for each feature, or jump right in Each of these has its own page. Start with How to use the platform.
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Who runs it, and who pays
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You will hear these four names. You only touch the first one day to day.
| Name | What it is for you |
|---|---|
| Research Platform | The workspace you open in your browser. This is where you work. |
| RPAdmin | The admin console. Project admins use it for members and budgets. |
| STAR | The login service. It checks who you are, one time, for everything. |
| AI Registry and Gateway | The catalog and front door for approved AI tools. |
What data you can put on it
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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
| You want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Know what works today, and what is coming | Capabilities and roadmap |
| Get an account | How to get access |
| Start working | How to use the platform |
| Get help | Email support@sciencecloud.nasa.gov |