LANL MPA: Magnetospheric Plasma Analyzer Data at 87-Second Resolution

Los Alamos Magnetospheric Plasma Analyzer data provides numerical plasma moments for low/high-energy ions and electrons in geosynchronous orbit. Moments are computed from corrected fluxes in spacecraft coordinates, with a 21.5-second offset between ion and electron measurements. The dataset, from NASA, was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing plasma flow direction based on corrected low-energy ion fluxes.
• Studying temperature anisotropy and distribution symmetry using Tperp/Tmid ratios.
• Investigating spacecraft potential effects on low-energy ion velocity magnitude.
• Modeling magnetic field direction from the symmetry axis eigenvector of the temperature matrix.
• Surveying plasma parameter dynamics using logarithmic scaling for high-dynamic-range variables.

Strengths

• Data includes three distinct plasma species: low-energy ions, high-energy ions, and electrons.
• Moments are corrected for background and spacecraft potential, with flow direction noted as well-determined.
• Provides a quality flag to indicate suspect values due to unreliable location information.

Limitations

• The description notes algorithms for corrections are 'relatively unsophisticated', making moments suspect during high background or spacecraft potential.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Numerical moments computed from Los Alamos Magnetospheric Plasma Analyzer (MPA) satellite measurements.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:01:05.365991; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Geosynchronous orbit.