Explorer 35 Solar Wind Plasma Data at 3-Minute Resolution

3-minute resolution solar wind plasma parameters from the MIT Faraday Cup on the selenocentric Explorer 35 spacecraft. The data includes flow speed, direction angles, ion thermal speed, density, and both geocentric and selenocentric spacecraft positions. NASA provides this data in annual ASCII files.

Use Cases

• Model solar wind propagation based on flow speed and direction angles.
• Analyze plasma density variations over time using the 3-minute resolution data.
• Correlate spacecraft position data with plasma parameter measurements.
• Study ion thermal properties in the solar wind.

Strengths

• Data has a high 3-minute temporal resolution for plasma parameters.
• Includes both geocentric and selenocentric spacecraft position data.
• Provided by the authoritative organization NASA.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is stored in ASCII and BIN/PDF formats, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the MIT Faraday Cup on the Explorer 35 (AIMP 2, IMP E) spacecraft.

Time Range

Annual files suggest multi-year coverage, but specific years are not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 07:38:23.323360; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Spatial coverage is selenocentric (Moon-centered) and geocentric (Earth-centered).