Status
Accepted — 2026-08-03
Context
The application needs a fast offline preview and a traceable publication path. Silent fallback from unavailable real data to synthetic terrain, or from lunar libration to an analytical rotation, can create plausible but mislabelled output.
Decision
Keep preview and research modes in one solver, but make research mode fail closed.
It requires a real DEM with a verified SHA-256 sidecar, pinned NAIF kernels,
MOON_ME geometry, extended solar disk, and minimum spin-up cycles. Synthetic
fallback remains available only through explicit preview commands.
Trade-offs
- Research setup is less convenient and requires external files.
- Kernel and DEM binaries are too large for Git and need manifest-driven setup.
- The same physics core avoids a second implementation drifting from preview.
Update for 0.5.0
The checks used to live only in configuration validation, so a command-line
override (--ephemeris synthetic) could bypass them. They now also run at the
start of every run, and a failing roughness model stops a research run
instead of falling back to flat emissivity.
Revisit trigger
Revisit after a versioned public data bundle and completed Diviner validation pipeline are available.