The 35th annual conference on Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems 2025 in Görlitz, Germany

Astronomy’s data lifecycle is no longer defined solely by storage and processing technologies, but equally by the social and organizational structures that enable long-term usability, interoperability, and trust. Within ESA’s ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC), we face these challenges at scale through missions such as Gaia and Euclid, and in the development of the Euclid Data Space (EDS) project. These projects illustrate how technical choices—ranging from distributed databases and data access protocols to standards adoption—are inseparable from community processes, governance, and collaboration across international teams.
This talk will share some lessons learned from designing and operating large-scale data systems in support of ESA’s Science Programme for over 25 years, focusing on three dimensions: (1) the technical evolution required to support massive, heterogeneous datasets across their lifecycle; (2) the social aspects of aligning diverse stakeholders, from mission teams to external research communities; and (3) the interplay between standards (e.g., VO protocols) and innovation in shaping sustainable service ecosystems. By highlighting concrete experiences from ESA’s data archives and science platforms, I will discuss how technical and social aspects together determine the success of data lifecycle management, and how these lessons may inform future astronomical and interdisciplinary data infrastructures.