MarsSI: Martian surface data processing service

Geological investigations of planetary surfaces require combination of orbital datasets. Multiple-instruments platforms operated by space agencies made the quantity of data available increase quickly. MarsSI [1] is a platform to facilitate exploring and processing those datasets.

As of 2026, MarsSI indexes and provide access to optical data (visible, multi and hyper-spectral) and derived products from the most recent missions. Our emphasis was to provide ”ready-to-use” products. MarsSI do not provide analysis or visualization tool, users will be able to use GIS or remote sensing software to run the analysis suited to their research.

MarsSI provides access to multiple optical datasets for visible, multi/hyper-spectral data. Optical imagery will follow a correction & projection piprline using ISIS (https://isis.astrogeology.usgs.gov/). Post-calibration, hyperspectral data is corrected with the volcano-scan method [2] and spectral parameter maps are produced.

MarsSI produces Digital Elevation Model (DEM) products from the CTX and HiRISE datasets (finding image pairs with a 60% minimum overlapping and 10° deviation in emission angle). DEM generation workflow was updated in 2020 with a completely new version[3].

MarsSI is accessed through a web browser portal. As shown on figure 1, the user can explore the datasets using a map interface. Data can be selected and sent to a workspace. The workspace view, shown on figure 2, allow to review products in detail, and request data processing. More Workspaces can be created to organize datasets.

When processing are finished, the user can order a copy operation, that make the requested data available in a SFTP directory. The platform now aims to complete its datasets, expanding on radar data (observation and simulation). Expanding non-martian datasets is also in our targets.

MarsSI offers the scientific communities a way to explore space agencies catalogs and automatically process them to high value products.

Acknowledgments

MarsSI is part of national Research Infrastructure PSUP, recognized as such by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research under the ANO5 label. It was supported by the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP) of CNRS/INSU, co-funded by CNES. This application is part of the ERC project OCEANID funded by the Horizon Europe Program (ERC Grant Agreement No. 101045260).

References

[1]  C. Quantin-Nataf et al. In: Planetary and Space Science 150 (2018).

[2] P. C. McGuire et al. In: Planetary and Space Science 57.7 (2009).

[3] M. Volat, C. Quantin-Nataf, and A. Dehecq. In: Planetary and Space Science 222 (2022).