MARS EXPRESS ASPERA-3 IMA: Ion Counts from First Mission Extension

January 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007 of raw ion count data from the Mars Express spacecraft's ASPERA-3 Ion Mass Analyzer instrument. The data is provided in raw units of counts per accumulation. This dataset was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Modeling the Martian ionosphere based on raw ion count data
• Analyzing temporal variations in ion composition based on the time-series nature of the mission extension data
• Calibrating or validating plasma instrument models based on the raw counts per accumulation unit
• Studying solar wind interaction with Mars based on ion mass analyzer measurements

Strengths

• Data covers a specific 21-month mission extension period from January 2006 to September 2007.
• Data originates from a NASA instrument on the Mars Express spacecraft, suggesting authoritative provenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the ASPERA 3 Ion Mass Analyzer instrument aboard the Mars Express spacecraft.

Time Range

January 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:35:43.182233; freshness should be verified

Geography

Mars orbit