The European Space Agency
Mars Express: OMEGA

The OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Min�ralogie, l�Eau, les Glaces et l�Activit�) Visible to Infrared Mapping Spectrometer determines the mineral content of the Martian surface and the aerosol and molecular composition of the atmosphere by analyzing sunlight reflected from the surface and diffused through the atmosphere. It also performs similar analyses on heat radiation emitted from the surface. Information from Omega contributes to our understanding of the structure of the Martian landscape and the role played by water over timescales ranging from seasons to billions of years. The OMEGA Principal Investigator is Dr. Jean-Pierre Bibring, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Orsay, France.

OMEGA observations initially included the VIS, C, and L spectrometers up until orbit 8485 (UTC 20 Aug 2010). With the subsequent failure of the C spectrometer, only the VIS and/or L spectrometer observations are included thereafter. Documentation on the evolution of the OMEGA calibrations and observations can be found in the SOFT10 processing code. (It is also available with OAT, found below.)

The primary source for OMEGA data is the ESA Planetary Science Archive.

Through a cooperative agreement between ESA and NASA, the PDS Geosciences Node is hosting a copy of the OMEGA data archive.

Copy of OMEGA Data at the PDS Geosciences Node, Washington University in St. Louis

• Nominal Mission (19 Feb 2003 - 19 Jan 2006; cruise through orbit 2595)
• Extended Mission 1 (22 Jan 2006 - 23 Oct 2007; orbits 2607-4890)
• Extended Mission 2 (4 Nov 2007 - 3 Jan 2010; orbits 4931-7697)
• Extended Mission 3 (4 Jan 2010 - 19 Oct 2012; orbits 7701-11193)
• Extended Mission 4 (20 Oct 2012 - 11 Jan 2015)
  
• Extended Mission 5 (14 Jan 2015 - 9 Jan 2017)
• Extended Mission 6 (10 Jan 2017 - 7 Jan 2019)
• Extended Mission 7 (9 Jan 2019 - 2 Jan 2021)
• Extended Mission 8 (6 Jan 2021 - 30 Dec 2022)
• Extended Mission 9 (4 Jan 2023 - 15 Jan 2024)
• OMEGA Mars Global Maps (updated 11 Mar 2014)
• Derived OMEGA Data Sets from Individual Investigators
  • Legacy Archive OMEGA 4 Atmospheric Profiles, v1, Piccialli et al. (2016)
  • Legacy Archive OMEGA 5 H2O Cloud Maps, v1, Szantai et al. (2024)

More information about OMEGA can be found in Bibring et al. 2004 and on the OMEGA web site.

Online Tools

	ESA Planetary Science Archive Global Maps of Mars - Provides quick access to all global Mars maps that have been published in the PSA.
	Mars Orbital Data Explorer - Provides search, display, and download  tools for this data set.
	OMEGA Analysis Tool (OAT) -  A collection of ENVI and IDL procedures for reading, displaying, and analyzing OMEGA data using SOFT10 code as a basis. For Windows platforms. OAT Setup Guide (PDF, 137 KB) OAT 1.0.2 (Zip, 3 MB) SOFT10_readme.txt (ASCII text, 22 KB) SOFT10.zip (Zip, 3.26 MB)

March 17, 2026. The derived H2O cloud dataset from individual investigators has been updated.

November 4, 2025. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 9 through January 15, 2024. New derived atmospheric profile and H2O cloud datasets from individual investigators have been added.

April 23, 2025. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 1, filling in gaps in coverage.

October 15, 2024. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 9 through December 16, 2023.

September 9, 2024. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 8 and Extended Mission 9 through June 25, 2023.

May 2, 2023. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 8 through June 12, 2022.

December 20, 2022. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 8 through December 19, 2021.

April 19, 2022. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 7 and Extended Mission 8 through April 29, 2021.

November 19, 2021. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 7 through December 5, 2020.

April 23, 2021. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 7 through June 14, 2020.

October 6, 2020. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 7 through December 22, 2019.

September 8, 2020. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 7 through June 30, 2019.

April 3, 2020. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through January 7, 2019, and for Extended Mission 7 from January 9 through June 2, 2019.

October 23, 2019. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through December 7, 2018.

July 18, 2019. A new version of Mars Express OMEGA Analysis Tool (OAT), 1.0.2, is available.

May 1, 2019. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through June 18, 2018.

November 26, 2018. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through December 24, 2017.

November 14, 2018. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through November 25, 2017.

October 10, 2018. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through August 31, 2017.

August 24, 2018. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 6 through June 30, 2017.

April 11, 2018. New data have been posted for Extended Mission 5 through January 9, 2017, and for Extended Mission 6 from January 10 through June 3, 2017.

October 6, 2017. New data for Extended Mission 5 through December 11, 2016, have been posted.

September 7, 2017. New data for Extended Mission 5 through June 19, 2016, have been posted.

May 12, 2017. New data for Extended Mission 5 through May 20, 2016, have been posted.

December 1, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 5 through 27 December 2015 have been posted.

November 8, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 5 through 1 October 2015 have been posted.

September 26, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 5 through 7 April 2015 have been posted.

March 16, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 4 through 11 January 2015 have been posted.

February 16, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 4 through 15 Sept 2014 have been posted.

February 10, 2016. New data for Extended Mission 4 through 23 May 2014 have been posted.

September 11, 2015. New data for Extended Mission 4 through 27 January 2014 have been posted.

October 15, 2014. Data for Extended Mission 4 through 28 December 2013 (orbit 12695) have been posted.

March 11, 2014. Some of the minerals maps in the OMEGA Mars Global Maps data set have been updated. The hydrated mineral map shows individual sites where hydrated minerals, formed only in the presence of water, were detected by the OMEGA and the MRO CRISM instruments. 

October 31, 2013. Data for Extended Mission 3 through 19 October 2012 (orbit 11193) have been posted.

September 11, 2013. The OMEGA Mars Global Map data set has been released. These are high-level map products derived from raw OMEGA data. 

August 31, 2012. New OMEGA data for Extended Mission 3 are posted.

January 25, 2011. This site now has OMEGA data acquired from 19 February 2003 through 3 January 2010 (cruise phase through orbit 7697). Data from the Extended Mission 1 and Extended Mission 2 are archived as separate data sets.