ESA Planetary Science Archive

The (ESA Planetary Science Archive (PSA) hosts all the data from ESA’s planetary missions into a single archive. It currently contains data from the Giotto, Mars Express, Rosetta, and Huygens spacecraft, some groundbased observations, and will host data from the Smart-1, Venus Express, and BepiColombo spacecraft in the future. Based on the NASA Planetary Data Systems (PDS) data dictionary, all datasets provided by the instrument teams are scientifically peer-reviewed and technically validated by software before being ingested into the Archive. Based on a modular and flexible architecture, the PSA offers a classical user-interface based on input fields, with powerful query and display possibilities. Data can be downloaded directly or through a more detailed shopping basket. Furthermore, a map-based interface is available to access Mars Express data without requiring any knowledge of the mission. Interoperability between the ESA PSA and the NASA PDS archives is also in progress, re-using concepts and experience gained from existing IVOA protocols. Prototypes are being developed to provide functionalities like GoogleMars, allowing access to both ESA PSA and NASA PDS data.