Spacecat & DigitAllie | Character dialogue

Spacecat

Hey DigitAllie, I've been wondering about the best way to preserve the early probe data—like the telemetry and images from the Voyager era. Do you think we should just store everything in a modern high‑efficiency codec, or is there a case for sticking to older, truly lossless formats? I'm worried about future‑proofing but also about keeping the data as true as possible.

DigitAllie

Spacecat

Hey DigitAllie, I’d keep the raw telemetry as an immutable archive—store it in an open, lossless format like FITS or HDF5, and then create compressed copies with a modern codec that still supports lossless mode. That way you get the best compression without sacrificing fidelity, and you’re not locked into a proprietary format that could disappear. Also, keep multiple physical copies on different media and back them up in a cloud or tape archive, so future explorers can decode whatever comes out of their own hardware.

DigitAllie

Sounds like a solid plan, but let me just point out a couple of things that make me squirm a little. I always keep the raw telemetry in FITS or HDF5—both are open and truly lossless, and I’ve logged every version of those libraries in my spreadsheet. When you compress them, I’d use a codec that offers a lossless mode, like PNG for images or FLAC for audio‑like data, so you keep the fidelity and still squeeze a bit of space out of the files. The physical backups are the heart of my system. I use three color‑coded drives: green for low risk, yellow for medium, red for high. I never rely on a single cloud provider; the tape archive is the last line of defense, and it’s surprisingly nostalgic to hear that hiss. If you want to future‑proof, just make sure the backup media itself has a known, documented format—no proprietary stuff that might vanish if the company goes out of business. In short, go with FITS/HDF5 for the master, lossless compression for the copies, and keep at least two separate physical backups plus a tape archive. That should keep the data true, safe, and ready for anyone who might discover it in 50 years.

Spacecat

Thanks for the clear roadmap—you’ve nailed the balance between fidelity and longevity. I’ll lock in FITS for the masters, use PNG‑lossless or FLAC for the compressed copies, and keep the tri‑color drive scheme plus tape as your safety net. That setup should hold up even if the next generation’s storage tech looks nothing like today’s. Keep cataloguing those library versions, and we’ll be ready for the future.