MESSENGER MAG: Interplanetary Magnetic Field Measurements in RTN Coordinates

High-resolution magnetic field vectors collected by the MESSENGER spacecraft's magnetometer during its cruise phase to Mercury, typically at 0.5 s or 1.0 s intervals. The mission, operated by NASA, aimed to study Mercury's surface, magnetic field, and environment. The nominal primary mission was planned to end in March 2012.

Use Cases

• Model Mercury's magnetosphere based on high-resolution magnetic field vectors.
• Analyze interplanetary magnetic field dynamics during spacecraft cruise based on RTN coordinate data.
• Study magnetic field perturbations near Mercury using calibrated three-axis samples.
• Correlate spacecraft position data with magnetic field readings to map spatial variations.

Strengths

• High temporal resolution, with samples typically at 0.5 s or 1.0 s intervals and sometimes as fine as 0.05 s.
• Calibrated three-axis magnetic field samples in heliospheric RTN coordinates (Br, Bt, Bn).
• Magnetometer has ±1530 and ±51300 nT ranges with 20-bit internal resolution.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the MESSENGER spacecraft's magnetometer instrument mounted on a 3.6 m boom.

Time Range

Cruise phase data; nominal primary mission planned to end in March 2012.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 09:17:33.897536; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Interplanetary space during cruise to Mercury and orbital measurements around Mercury.