MMS FPI: Magnetospheric Plasma Distribution Moments at 4.5-Second Resolution

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission provides plasma distribution moments from the Fast Plasma Instrument's Dual Ion Spectrometer. The Level 2 data product contains integrated moments of phase space distributions, aggregated to a 4.5-second survey resolution from higher-rate burst measurements. The dataset includes instrument state annotations and is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with a last update recorded on 2026-03-13.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetospheric plasma dynamics based on integrated distribution moments.
• Analyzing ion behavior in the magnetosphere based on phase space distribution data.
• Correlating instrument system states with plasma measurements using included time stamps and annotations.
• Studying plasma properties in different mission phases based on Fast Survey and Slow Survey mode data.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA's MMS mission, a flagship space physics investigation.
• Includes instrument state annotations and timestamps for data context.
• Provides plasma moments at a defined 4.5-second resolution for Fast Survey mode.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Fast Plasma Instrument's Dual Ion Spectrometer onboard the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:30:18.073725; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Magnetospheric regions, specifically the MMS Region Of Interest (ROI).