title: Mars surface diversity as revealed by the OMEGA/Mars Express observations.
abstract: The Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces, et l'Activité (OMEGA) investigation, on board the European Space Agency Mars Express mission, is mapping the surface composition of Mars at a 0.3- to 5-kilometer resolution by means of visible-near-infrared hyperspectral reflectance imagery. The data acquired during the first 9 months of the mission already reveal a diverse and complex surface mineralogy, offering key insights into the evolution of Mars. OMEGA has identified and mapped mafic iron-bearing silicates of both the northern and southern crust, localized concentrations of hydrated phyllosilicates and sulfates but no carbonates, and ices and frosts with a water-ice composition of the north polar perennial cap, as for the south cap, covered by a thin carbon dioxide-ice veneer.
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France. bibring@ias.u-psud.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bibring
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Langevin
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gendrin
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gondet
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poulet
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berthé
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soufflot
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arvidson
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mangold
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mustard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Drossart
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D004367:Dry Ice; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007053:Ice; D058085:Iron Compounds; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D018535:Mars; D008903:Minerals; D017640:Silicates; D018531:Spacecraft; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D004367:Dry Ice; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D007053:Ice; D058085:Iron Compounds; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D008903:Minerals; D017640:Silicates; C060346:basalt; D014867:Water; C092478:pyroxene; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; C000499:ferric oxide; C034475:olivine