CASSINI HRD: Dust Flux and Mass Distribution from the Cassini Orbiter, 2004-2015

The High Rate Detector (HRD) from the University of Chicago measured dust flux and particle mass distribution for dust particles hitting its detectors on the Cassini Orbiter. This data set includes all HRD data through December 31, 2015. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides this data via Data.gov, with the dataset last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling the dust environment around Saturn based on measured dust flux.
• Analyzing particle mass distribution to understand the composition of interplanetary dust.
• Calibrating or validating dust impact models for spacecraft instruments.
• Studying temporal variations in dust concentration encountered by the Cassini Orbiter.

Strengths

• Data covers the Cassini mission period through a specific end date of December 31, 2015.
• Instrument description is detailed in a referenced peer-reviewed publication (Srama et al., 2004).
• Data originates from a definitive NASA space mission.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; the data is from 2015 but the metadata was updated in 2026.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by the High Rate Detector (HRD), an independent part of the CDA instrument on the Cassini Orbiter.

Time Range

Through December 31, 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 04:36:38.346238; freshness should be verified

Geography

Space; Saturnian system and interplanetary space traversed by the Cassini Orbiter.