Apollo 12 Solar Wind Measurements: Hourly Plasma Parameters at the Moon

Hourly averaged plasma parameters from the Apollo 12 Solar Wind Spectrometer on the lunar surface. The dataset contains four sets of averages for proton density, alpha-to-proton ratio, bulk speed, flow angle, and related statistical measures. It was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind interaction with the lunar surface based on proton density and bulk speed measurements.
• Analyzing solar wind composition variability based on the alpha-to-proton ratio data.
• Studying solar wind flow dynamics near the Moon based on the directly measured flow angles.
• Assessing data quality for space weather studies based on the rms deviations and number of spectra per average.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative Apollo 12 mission, collected by NASA.
• Provides four distinct quality-filtered subsets of hourly averages for comparative analysis.
• Includes key plasma parameters like proton density, bulk speed, and alpha-to-proton ratio.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the Apollo 12 Solar Wind Spectrometer on the lunar surface.

Time Range

Coverage period from the Apollo 12 mission is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:27:41.051122; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lunar surface at the Apollo 12 landing site.