In situ and remote observations onboard planetary probes as well as Earth based observations in various spectral ranges offer a great wealth of information related to the objects of the Solar System and to exoplanets. Preserving this dearly acquired legacy is a prerequisite to its scientific exploitation. For space missions this is usually achieved by space agencies through archiving initiatives like the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) or the ESA Planetary Science Archives (PSA). The curation of ground based observations is done by astronomical observatories which manage their own data repositories, sometimes since a long time. A comprehensive and coordinated effort to broaden and make easier the public access to all these data is mandatory to enhance their use by the whole community of planetary scientists.
A Virtual Observatory can provide users with an easy access to data archives and analysis or simulation tools: various information services can efficiently supplement a VO. The VO approach becomes widespread in astronomy, but still needs to be promoted in planetary sciences. This VO session will be the opportunity to update our knowledge of the VO activities in planetary laboratories and to estimate the effort necessary to develop in order to achieve a Planetary Virtual Observatory. The first bricks of the VO, to be developed in compliance with recommendations issued by the International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA) and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) are data models in planetary sciences and data access protocols that will allow planetary teams to share their data: thus we call for communications on these key topics. But this session will also be open to wider topics in the VO context, being the proposed session also focused on data management from the point of view of scientists.
Main topics of this session will be:
o VO tools and facilities, web services, workflows
o planetary science applications in the VO context.
o Data archiving, data finding and access, including virtual observatory tools and techniques
o Data exploitation, that means sevices and tools of general interest such as particular databases, mapping software and so on.