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.
Status: The Research Platform is live 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. You access it through your web browser 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, the platform gives you more computing power.
- Cost control: When you finish working, the machines turn off, and you stop paying immediately.
Who can use the Research Platform?
Any Science Mission Directorate (SMD)-funded project 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.
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 | On the Research Platform |
|---|---|
| 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 |
What'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 (from 4 GB up to 64 GB) every time you start.
- 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 a long notebook to run on its own while you work on other tasks.
- Real-time collaboration: Edit the same notebook at the exact same time as your teammates.
- Built-in AI: Use an in-workspace AI assistant and access a catalog of approved tools.
- Clear budgets: Always know what you've spent and what's left in the project budget.
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.
| 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
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
| 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 |