DMSP SSIES: Thermal Plasma Data from Multiple Spacecraft

Thermal plasma data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation (SSIES) instruments. The dataset includes 4-second resolution measurements of ion velocity components (Vx, Vy, Vz), ion and electron temperatures (Ti, Te), and ion composition fractions for Hydrogen, Helium, and Oxygen. It is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling ionospheric plasma dynamics based on 4-second resolution velocity and temperature data.
• Analyzing ion composition variations in the upper atmosphere based on H, He, and O fractions.
• Studying space weather impacts on satellite operations based on multi-instrument thermal plasma measurements.
• Validating physics-based simulations of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system based on multi-spacecraft observations.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from multiple Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft.
• Provides 4-second temporal resolution for high-frequency plasma dynamics.
• Includes measurements from three instrument types: drift meter, retarding potential analyzer, and Langmuir probe.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by Special Sensor Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation (SSIES) instruments on DMSP satellites.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:23:21.281613; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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