spice.generic_kernels
spice.generic_kernels
SPICE generic kernels management.
This module provides functions for downloading and loading generic SPICE kernels that are required for basic operations and calculations.
Functions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| download_generic_kernel | Download a single generic kernel by short alias. |
| download_generic_kernels | Download all kernels required for basic SPICE operations. |
| load_generic_kernels | Load all kernels in generic_kernels list. |
| show_loaded_kernels | Show overview of all currently loaded SPICE kernels. |
download_generic_kernel
spice.generic_kernels.download_generic_kernel(name, overwrite=False)Download a single generic kernel by short alias.
Aliases (see GENERIC_KERNEL_ALIASES): - "lsk" — leapseconds (naif0012.tls) - "pck" — planetary constants (pck00010.tpc) - "masses" — DE-403 mass values (de-403-masses.tpc) - "de430" — JPL DE430 planetary ephemeris (large, ~120 MB) - "mar099s" — Mars satellite ephemeris
Full kernel paths (relative to NAIF’s generic_kernels/ URL) are also accepted for advanced cases — e.g. passing "lsk/naif0011.tls" to fetch an older LSK.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| name | str | Alias from GENERIC_KERNEL_ALIASES or a path-fragment relative to GENERIC_URL. |
required |
| overwrite | bool | Re-download even if the local cache already has the file. | False |
Returns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| pathlib.Path | Local cache path of the downloaded kernel. |
Raises
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ValueError | If name is neither a known alias nor a recognized path-fragment shape. |
download_generic_kernels
spice.generic_kernels.download_generic_kernels(overwrite=False)Download all kernels required for basic SPICE operations.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| overwrite | bool | Whether to overwrite existing files, by default False | False |
load_generic_kernels
spice.generic_kernels.load_generic_kernels()Load all kernels in generic_kernels list.
Loads pure planetary bodies meta-kernel without spacecraft data. Downloads any missing generic kernels.
show_loaded_kernels
spice.generic_kernels.show_loaded_kernels()Show overview of all currently loaded SPICE kernels.
Returns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| list | List of loaded kernel paths relative to KERNEL_STORAGE |