Cassini INMS: Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer Data for Saturn Mission

CASSINI S INMS LEVEL 1A EXTRACTED DATA V1.0 from NASA includes all mass samples for the entire Cassini mission. The data set contains mass spectra from instrument checkout, Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI), and the full Saturn tour. It is organized as a spreadsheet with one row per sample period, containing ancillary data and counter outputs.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the composition of Saturn's atmosphere and magnetosphere based on mass spectra data.
• Studying temporal changes in neutral and ion densities during the Cassini tour.
• Modeling instrument performance and calibration using data from the checkout periods.
• Correlating mass spectrometer readings with other Cassini instrument observations.

Strengths

• Covers the entire Cassini mission, providing a complete temporal record.
• Includes data from critical mission phases: checkout, SOI, and the Saturn tour.
• Data is structured in a spreadsheet format with one row per sample period.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Cassini spacecraft's Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) instrument.

Time Range

Covers the entire Cassini mission, including checkout, SOI, and Saturn tour phases.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 04:32:11.120770; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Data from the Saturn system.