MAAP-PAL cHALLENGE

MAAP-PAL challenge

After the retirement of the OADS data access system on 31 March 2026, the EarthCARE MAAP (Multi-mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform) will be the only ESA platform for EarthCARE dissemination. Now that all EarthCARE data products have been publicly released and are available on MAAP, users are invited to benefit maximally from the data access and analysis facility within the MAAP collaborative environment Product Algorithm Laboratory (PAL).

With the EarthCARE MAAP-PAL challenge, the organizing committee would like to encourage workshop presenters to explore and exploit MAAP-PAL when analysing EarthCARE data and preparing their presentations. This challenge is designed to be as inclusive as possible, regardless of expertise/seniority level, in order to stimulate a more widespread and innovative use of MAAP PAL. 

The way the challenge works, in short:

  • All first authors are eligible to enter the challenge.
  • Those who fulfil the challenge requirements are considered contestants. Every contestant receives a participation gift.
  • The jury evaluates the works presented by contestants based on a set of criteria. Two favourites (one from oral presentations and one from poster presentations) selected by the jury receive a prize each.
Detailed information about the challenge is provided below (will be updated to include more details in the first half of April 2026).


Eligibility

Open to all first authors of oral or poster presentations. 

Challenge requirements

To take part in the challenge, one must meet all of the following requirements:

  • First author of a talk or a poster presented at the workshop. The presentation itself can be given by a co-author. 
  • Indicate participation in the challenge on the workshop registration form by 8 May.
  • Include a short paragraph (at the bottom of the poster or summary slide or as a footnote) explaining which component(s) of MAAP-PAL* is used and in what way.
  • Submit analysis scripts and PDF file of the presentations by 4 Jun to a dedicated repository (TBD) for jury evaluation.
*There are three MAAP-PAL components: JupyterLab (Coding), Processing Component, Visualization & Analytics Component. For new users who do not yet have access to MAAP-PAL, the access request procedure can be found here. 

Example of a challenge workflow: link to the PDF file here

Jury evaluation criteria

The entries by those who meet the 4 challenge requirements will be evaluated by the jury (exception applies - see Note). Poster and oral presentations are judged separately. The following evaluation criteria for the selection of ‘jury favorite’ focus more on the MAAP application rather than on the science and validation content/value.

  • To what extent the MAAP-PAL capability is exploited in this work
  • The potential of further MAAP-PAL exploitation or MAAP-PAL improvement resulting from this work
Note that entries deemed to fall in one of the following categories are automatically excluded from the jury evaluation:

  • Works submitted by those in the jury and the organizing team of the challenge
  • Works purely resulting from the EarthCARE MAAP Hackathon in April 2026 without additional elements beyond the scope of the hackathon
Participation gift and prize

  • For each of those who meet the 4 challenge requirements, a participation gift is prepared by the organizers.
  • Two prizes are prepared for the two 'Jury favorites' (one from oral presenters and one from poster presenters).