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Herodotus Satellite Contracts are the on-chain trustlessness-providing layer behind Herodotus historical data services. They maintain append-only block commitments (MMRs), verify block/account/storage proofs, and expose verified data through contract read functions that applications can consume directly. If a value is stored in Satellite, downstream contracts can use it without trusting a centralized indexer, API operator or oracle.

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What this section covers

This section explains Satellite from two angles:
  • End-user usage (what to call, what to expect).
  • Internal architecture (MMRs, growth, messaging, and module design).
It also connects Satellite to the broader Herodotus stack:
  • Storage Proof API prepares and submits proofs so data is saved in Satellite.
  • Data Structure Indexer API provides off-chain access to accumulators, peaks, and proof-related metadata used around Satellite workflows.
  • HDP relies on these committed blocks and proofs for sound historical computation.

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Why this contract layer exists

On-chain applications cannot query arbitrary historical chain state by default. Satellite solves this by:
  1. Anchoring historical block headers in on-chain MMRs.
  2. Verifying storage-proof components against those anchored headers.
  3. Saving selected verified facts for cheap on-chain reuse.
This is the core mechanism that makes Herodotus data products verifiable rather than trust-based.

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Where to go next