MMS 2 DSP-SCM Magnetic Field Power Spectral Density, 16 s Averaging

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission onboard Digital Signal Processor computes magnetic field power spectral density from Search Coil Magnetometer signals. The data product uses a 1024-point FFT algorithm on waveform data, producing spectra averaged over intervals from 1 to 16 seconds. The dataset was last updated on March 13, 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing magnetospheric wave modes based on power spectral density calculations.
• Studying plasma density via narrow-band emission fitting accuracy of (del f)/f ~3%.
• Investigating signal dynamics using the pseudo-logarithmic compression representing over 120 dB of dynamic range.
• Examining spectral averaging processes with 48-bit accuracy to maximize dynamic range.

Strengths

• Data is computed onboard by a dedicated Digital Signal Processor (DSP) using a 1024-point FFT algorithm.
• Spectra are reduced to 88 frequency bins with (del f)/f between 6% and 12% for detailed frequency analysis.
• The averaging process has 48-bit accuracy to maximize dynamic range.

Limitations

• Timing between channels can be inaccurate by a fraction of a second as components are not synchronized to the 1 second pulse.
• 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

Collection Method

Onboard computation by the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) from Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) analog signals.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 08:55:29.945031