The Final Frontier: Using InfluxDB on the International Space Station

The International Space Station's (ISS) Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which conducts fundamental physics research, has modernized its software system by replacing its relational database backend with the time series database InfluxDB. This change eliminated the need for custom scripting updates and provided a simplified way to add, query, and visualize vital data from the AMS. The new AMI also offers a simplified method of updating without the need for custom scripting and allows the use of APIs to automate backup and synchronization. InfluxDB is now used in conjunction with Grafana for client-side visualizations, improving data analysis and allowing POCC engineers to better understand monitoring data, make comparisons, understand trends, and spot abnormalities.