Hello, 

I'm attempting to use the MESSENGER GRS PDS data viewer in order to output GRS data into csv files. The software tool is located at https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/messenger/grs_software.htm. I downloaded the messenger_pds_viewer_v7-macosx.tgz file and tried to run it, but absolutely nothing happens. The app won't launch. I'm using Java version 8, update 251 on a macOS Mojave version 10.14.6. I read through the softinfo.txt file that is included in the downloaded derived GRS data, and it mentions that the MESSENGER PDS viewer installation requires a Mac OS with a Java 1.6 JRE or newer installed. The "updated" PDS viewer software for GRS data was released on March 8, 2013, so I think the MESSENGER GRS PDS data viewer is too outdated to run on my machine. Does anyone know if there has been any further releases? Or if there's any other way to convert the GRS data to properly formatted .csv files? For each day there are 3 files, e.g., grs_cs32013091zzz.xml, grs_cs32013091zzz.tab, and grs_cs32013091zzz.lbl. I really need the shield spectra data from the GRS_CAL_SH product

 

 

Hi Christy,

I just tried the Windows version of the software on my Windows 10 machine. It would not run properly, either. I think we can assume the software has not kept up with the latest operating systems.

I do have a couple of alternative options. I have confirmed that the files can be viewed with the PDS4 viewer: https://sbnwiki.astro.umd.edu/wiki/PDS4_Viewer
Using this tool, the data files can be exported as csv, tab delimited, and additional formats.

Keep in mind that the archive you mentioned is both PDS3 and PD4 compatible. To use PDS3 tools, use the .lbl label, while PDS4 tools will use the .xml label. The XML label will be needed for the PDS4 Viewer.

You could also write a script with IDL, MATLAB, Python, or another programming language to parse the data files. The column specifications are found in the label files. The PDS3 label file refers to format files which are found in the archive's label directory (https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/messenger/mess-e_v_h-grns-3-grs-cdr-v1/messgrs_2001/label/). The product you mentioned refers to https://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/messenger/mess-e_v_h-grns-3-grs-cdr-v1/messgrs_2001/label/grs_cal_sh3.fmt. The PDS4 label contains all of the column definitions.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Best wishes,

Dan