The Center for Research in Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC) at the University of A Coruña hosted this week the mid-term meeting of the European project SPACIOUS (Science Platform Cloud Infrastructure for Outsize Usage Scenarios), an initiative funded by the Horizon Europe program. The project’s goal is to develop a cloud-based scientific platform designed to handle and analyze large volumes of data from European Space Agency missions, such as Gaia and Euclid.

Over three days, from June 18 to 20, representatives from the consortium’s various partners gathered at CITIC’s facilities to advance the technical development of the infrastructure and coordinate the next phases of the project. Participants included researchers and engineers from institutions such as the University of Barcelona — the project’s coordinating entity —, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the University of Edinburgh, CENTRA (Portugal), Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland), and the University of A Coruña, which actively contributes through CITIC, in a working group led by José Carlos Dafonte Vázquez.

The SPACIOUS project aims to provide the European scientific community with an advanced tool for efficiently processing and analyzing the massive volumes of data generated by space observatories. In this regard, the platform under development will integrate data mining, artificial intelligence, and advanced visualization techniques, enabling new discoveries in astronomy and fundamental physics.

During the meeting held in A Coruña, the consortium addressed key topics such as the system architecture design, integration of large-scale data analysis algorithms, interoperability with existing infrastructures, and the preparation of scientific use cases to validate the environment. Plans were also made for the future opening of the platform to the international research community through a call for proposals, which will help assess its potential in real-world research scenarios.

CITIC’s involvement in this European consortium strengthens its role as a leader in information technologies applied to science, contributing its expertise in data analysis, advanced computing, and technology transfer. Furthermore, this collaboration highlights the Galician ecosystem’s ability to participate in high-level international projects with demanding technical and scientific requirements.

SPACIOUS has received €1.9 million in funding and will run until the end of 2026. The University of A Coruña’s contribution through CITIC represents a strategic boost to its commitment to frontier research and international collaboration.