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IXPE Data Archive

The IXPE data are processed at MSFC after completion of a science observation and then sent to the HEASARC for archiving. After a three month checkout period, the data will be publicly available within one week of the observation completion. Note: It is still very early in the IXPE mission and flaws are being found in the processing and fixed. For each observation a readme file is being included in the archive that describe know issues with the processing for that observation.

The data products are provided as event lists of processed tracks giving polarization information in sky coordinates. This processing is described in the IXPE Observatory User Guide. Also archived are the lower level event files as well as housekeeping and auxiliary data, though these are not needed for most science use cases.

Note that some observations include data from a number of different time periods.

It is strongly recommended that publications using IXPE data include the following acknowledgement: "This work reports observations obtained with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), a joint US (NASA) and Italian (ASI) mission, led by Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The research uses data products provided by the IXPE Science Operations Center (MSFC), using algorithms developed by the IXPE Collaboration, and distributed by the High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC)."

IXPE Archive Access

IXPE data can be accessed through the following HEASARC multi-mission interfaces:

HEASARC Browse interface The classic multi-mission interface
HEASARC Xamin interface (including a command-line batch interface) HEASARC next-generation multi-mission data portal
Astronomy data access through Python Using Python and generic VO interfaces.
Anonymous FTP via HTTPS and related command-line download methods Direct data retrieval without browsing the observation logs.

Latest News

  • IXPE Cycle 4 Now Accepting Proposals (04 Aug 2026)
    The due date for IXPE Cycle 4 proposal submission is Sept 17, 2026. Proposals should be submitted via the HEASARC's ARK Remote Proposal System (RPS). For more information about this cycle, please visit the IXPE Cycle 4 Guide for Proposals Page.
  • Required work plan moved to Expertise and Resources document (30 Jul 2026)
    IXPE Cycle 4 proposers should note that the required one paragraph work plan has been moved to the Non-anonymized Expertise and Resources (E&R) document and should be non-anonymized. Consequently, the page limit for the E&R document has now been increased to 2 pages. For more information, please visit the Cycle 4 proposal guide. For any questions about proposal submission and guidelines, please contact the IXPE help desk.
  • IXPE Caldb Updated (29 Jun 2026)
    The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the GPD (version 20260610) and XRT (version 20260609). Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
  • IXPE DU2 Data Delivery Resumed (15 Jun 2026)
    Delivery of data from IXPE's Detector Unit 2 (DU2) has resumed. The IXPE team performed an extensive recalibration campaign including 2.7 Ms of exposure on the bright X-ray binary Cyg X-2 in December 2025 and January 2026. The recalibration has successfully restored the polarization and spectral response of DU2. All data since the anomaly in April 2025 have been reprocessed and re-delivered with DU2. Data delivery for new observations now includes DU2. Users are encouraged to compare the results obtained with the different DUs and report any significant discrepancies via the IXPE Help Desk. For more information on the anomaly, please see this presentation by the IXPE SOC.
  • IXPE Caldb Updated (28 Apr 2026)
    The IXPE Caldb has been updated for the GPD (version 20260424) and XRT (version 20260331). Downloads are available from the IXPE Calibration page. Users can also access the HEASARC IXPE caldb via remote access.
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