Development of SOI Investigations In order to optimally utilize the observing capabilities of the MDI instrument and the resources of the SOI Science Support Center, all SOI science investigations will proceed through a series of steps. The following discussion outlines the planned development of SOI investigations, and is intended to define the flow for investigations from the initial submission through to analysis of data and publication of results. Investigation proposals will be submitted by a lead investigator, and will consist of an investigation description which details the required observations and data processing, and an estimate of the desired analysis resources. The submitted proposal is evaluated for appropriateness to the SOI science goals, overlap with mission objectives and existing investigations, and resource requirements. A written recommendation is made whether or not to add the proposed investigation to the list of approved SOI investigations. After a proposed investigation is accepted, a Local Coordinator is assigned to facilitate the development of the investigation, the requirements for the investigation are studied in detail, and an Investigation Description is prepared. Two key parts of the Investigation Description are the detailed descriptions of observations made by the MDI instrument and the processing performed by the SOI Science Support Center. Required Observation Sequences are identified, and new ones are developed and verified on the MDI Simulation System. The required analysis pipelines for calibration and processing are detailed, and new analysis modules are developed by the investigation team. Collaborative investigations are coordinated with other SOHO instrument teams, other spacecraft, or ground observatories. The completed Investigation Description is presented at a SOI Team Meeting where an observation priority is assigned. The observation is then included in the observing plan at a monthly SOI science planning meeting, and a starting date for the observation is assigned. New Observation Sequences need to be converted to command uploads in order to be sent to the MDI instrument. Tracking of the observing plan and MDI instrument processor memory use will determine when command uploads of Observing Sequences should be performed. The required command uploads are then scheduled to allow verification of all required Observation Sequence parameters in the MDI processors several days prior to initiating an observation. Observations will typically be initiated by command files generated one to three days prior to the scheduled observation starting time, but adjustments in the observation schedule can be made based on solar conditions and spacecraft resources. The spacecraft commanding and MDI instrument will be monitored to verify that the observation was initiated as scheduled is functioning correctly. A summary log is produced as observations are completed. The SSSC receives telemetry files from GSFC, ingests the data, and archives the datasets. GSFC is notified that the data has been received after ingestion and redundant archiving have been verified. The observation log is cross referenced to the received data and the investigation plans to determine and schedule the proper processing pipelines. The raw telemetry data are then processed through calibrated images and statistical abstracts of the data are prepared. The Local Coordinator and Lead Investigator examine the data products and data quality summaries in order to certify the data as available for further analysis. The calibrated data is then processed through to the final science data sets. The data catalogs are then updated, and the data are marked as available to the Lead Investigator and a period for exclusive publication rights by the Investigation Team is established. The Lead Investigator is expected to provide progress reports on the state of the investigation as well as scientific results at SOI Team Meeting. submitted for normal publication. Copies of all draft publications should delivered to the SOI project office prior to submission in order to check the publications for technical accuracy. SOI Mosaic Interface It is anticipated that many details of the SOI development will be available through the World Wide Web using Mosaic. There will be a Mosaic page generated for each investigation that will contain a description of the investigation, the required resources and the status of the investigation. There will also be Mosaic pages for each MDI Observation Sequence and for each SOI Analysis Module and associated Pipeline. The Investigation Page will be linked to the publicly accessible SOI home page. Links will be provided to associated descriptions of MDI Observation Sequences, SOI Analysis Modules and Pipelines, and abstracts or full text reports of findings. The history will be updated as each step is completed. The goal is to move plans through the initial steps as quickly as possible and to insure prompt action by providing a clear procedure. In addition, proposals will be submitted by an investigator via an HTTP form on the SOI home page or by e-mail. Each SOI Investigation, both Team Science and individual investigations, will have an associated Investigation Description. The Mosaic page that will be used to track each SOI science investigation will contain at least the following fields: SOI Objective: Short descriptive name for the investigation. Investigation ID: A unique key that is used to identify the investigation in databases. Technical Summary: Short abstract of the investigation including science objective, approach, data needed, type of analysis. Requirement Summary: Summary of requirements including solar conditions, MDI mode, special observing mode, associated observations, and computational requirements. Lead Investigator: The investigation coordinator and team leader who should be a SOI Co-Investigator or sponsored by a Co-Investigator. Local Coordinator: Stanford University or LPARL responsible scientist. For Team Science SOI objectives, the Local Coordinator is an active member of the team. For individual investigations the Local Coordinator is the point of contact for help. Team: List of team members which includes the Lead Investigator and Local Coordinator. Investigation Plan: A complete investigation description which provides the scope of the planned investigation, and details the observation and analysis plans. Rather than including a broad range of objectives possible from a given dataset, the investigation should be targeted to a specific science objective although several approaches can be identified. Other SOI Investigations should be referenced for similar or identical observation or analysis components. MDI Observation Sequences: A list of MDI Observation Sequences that satisfy the observation requirements. Where possible, existing MDI Observation Sequences should be referenced. If a new sequence is required, the specifications of the observation should be detailed. When a sequence is developed that meets the requirements of the Investigation, the references will be added. SOI Analysis Modules: A list of the SOI Analysis Modules and Pipelines that will satisfy the front-end analysis requirements. Where possible, existing SOI Analysis Modules should be referenced. The specifications should be detailed if a new module is required. This section will be filled in with appropriate module names and parameters when available. Dataset Description: A complete specification of the Investigation datasets including observables, format, and naming. Unique keywords such as Sequence Identification should be listed to provide a starting point for catalog searches. Collaborative Aspects: Description of non-SOI aspects of the investigation. This description should include joint observations, joint analyses, SOI data needed as correlative data for ground-based studies, and vice versa. All significant non-SOI requirements should be described. History: A list of events in the evolution of the investigation including original posting date, new Observation Sequences and Analysis Modules generated, observations scheduled and performed, the state of data availability, and papers published. There will be an entry for each step accomplished in the SOI Investigation. Notification List: List of people to notify when this document changes, and particularly when the History is updated. Mission Planning Several documents detail the mission planning and operations aspects of both the SOHO spacecraft and the SOI-MDI project. The SOHO Science Operations Plan is a top level description of the science activities associated with SOHO including operations planning, resource utilization, coordination of joint observing and data exchange. The SOI-MDI Mission Operations Plan details the responsibilities of SOI personnel at both the EOF and the SSSC, and describes how the mission planning and operations are coordinated. The SOI-MDI Experiment Operations Plan, on the other hand, describes how the MDI instrument is operated, and includes detailed procedures and instrument command and telemetry descriptions. The overall SOI-MDI science and operations planning will be coordinated from the SOI Science Support Center at Stanford University. SOI Science Team planning meetings will be held quarterly to assess performance, science progress, and to set priorities for the next quarter. In addition, the science team will allocate observing resources and develop long term observing priorities based on the requests developed by the Team Science working groups and Investigator collaborations. Observing, processing and analysis priorities are based on inputs from the SOI science team. The detailed mission planning is derived from the observing priorities, while the processing priorities drive the scheduling of analysis computer resources. Members of the SOI team will support the monthly SOHO science goals planning meetings and will be involved in the SOHO mission planning process by communicating MDI observing priorities and requirements in development of the SOHO EOF Activities Plan. Similarly the SOHO operations requirements, constraints and plans will be provided at SOI-MDI science team meetings to support of development of MDI observing priorities and coordinate MDI operations. Monthly meetings held at the SSSC will direct MDI operations through the development of an observing plan and definition of observing campaigns in support of the science requirements. The MDI Observing Plan will be developed from the observing priorities and will be coordinated with the overall SOHO Activities Plan and planning information such as attitude and trajectory data, Deep Space Network schedules, and spacecraft activities The MDI Observing Plan will include new or updated MDI observing campaigns or other coordinated instrument commanding, and new or revised sequences, parameters or tables and develop memory loads as required. SSSC observation planning meetings will be held weekly, phased to precede the EOF weekly planning meetings. The output of these meetings will be the MDI Observing Priorities for the next week from which the MDI Observer will develop the weekly Observing Plan. Instrument commanding schedule requests will then be developed to support the observing plan and submitted in support of the weekly planning cycle. Electronic mail, teleconferences and data file exchange between the SSSC and the EOF Observer will be used for daily coordination. In addition, a daily assessment will be made of opportunities for collaborative studies of developing solar features. Such opportunities will be communicated to the SSSC for consideration as they arise.