Visitors Welcome
The facility welcomes those interested in seeing the results of the space program and offers tours, lectures, and demonstrations to the general public. View the calendar for open dates.

Housed on the third floor of the Space Sciences Building on Cornell University's main campus in Ithaca, NY, SPIF has a wonderfully centralized location, both on campus and in New York State. It is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. To arrange a visit, call (607) 255-3833.

A conference room capable of holding 25 adults comfortably is in constant use as a center for presentations by SPIF staff as well as department and visiting faculty. Hundreds of guests visit each year for discussions of the planets and solar system exploration. These visitors are from schools, camps, youth and adult organizations - click here to view some photos.

SPIF serves as a focus for planetary activities at Cornell, and also supports the research acitvities of scientists from other institutions.

Tour the Solar System!
~ Touch a meteorite
~ See the flag and patch presented to Cornell that flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia
~ View photograghs of the solar system- click here for recent images
~ Watch a live broadcast from NASA

SPIF has over a hundred thousand images returned from the United States planetary exploration program. The collection encompasses images from the earliest Ranger photographs of the Moon through the most recent data returned by Cassini for Phoebe and Saturn and the Mars Exploration Rovers.

In addition to hard-copy photoproducts, SPIF has selected images stored on magnetic tapes and CD-ROMs. There are also meteorites, spacecraft models, globes, maps, and an ever-growing collection of slides available for viewing.

SPIF has a computer system that allows rapid searching and selection of available images, and image display and processing software on many different platforms available for users to view and enhance planetary images. An analog videodisc system allows users to take an initial quick look at many of the images. Eventually, digital images from virtually all missions will be available on CD-ROM, most of which will include quick-look "browse" versions of the full images. Other equipment at SPIF include microfiche viewers, a VHS videotape system, light table, stereo viewers, and a hookup that can provide access to the NASA Select satellite channel.

SPIF does not provide copies of its photographs; we can provide you with individual digital images if we have them on hand, or they can be downloaded from several excellent sites, such as NASA's PDS Imaging Node, Planetary Photojournal and their Planetary Image Atlas.

CD-ROMs can be ordered through the National Space Science Data Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Send e-mail to Rick Kline, SPIF Data Manager