MMS 1 Magnetic Ephemeris and Coordinates: Spacecraft Position and Magnetic Field Data

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale 1 (MMS 1) spacecraft provides Level-2 science data at 30-second resolution. The data product includes spacecraft position, velocity, attitude, and magnetic ephemeris calculated using the Tsyganenko 1989 magnetic field model for disturbed conditions. It also contains magnetic field measurements, footpoint locations, loss cone angles, L-shell, magnetic local time, and activity indices like Dst and Kp.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetospheric field lines and footpoint locations based on the Tsyganenko 1989 model.
• Analyzing spacecraft trajectory and orientation in multiple coordinate systems using provided quaternions.
• Correlating spacecraft measurements with geomagnetic activity using included Dst and Kp indices.
• Studying particle loss cone dynamics based on calculated northern and southern hemisphere loss cone angles.

Strengths

• Data is produced by NASA, an authoritative space science organization.
• Includes calculated magnetic ephemeris using a specific, documented field model (Tsyganenko 1989).
• Provides coordinate transformations between 7 systems via rotational quaternions.
• Last metadata update recorded as 2026 -03-13.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale 1 (MMS 1) spacecraft.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 09:23:20.721844; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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