MMS FPI DES: Partial Plasma Distribution Moments from Burst Mode

Burst mode data at 30 ms resolution from the MMS mission's Fast Plasma Investigation Dual Electron Spectrometer, provided by NASA. The dataset contains partial moments, which are standard moment integrals calculated over a limited portion of velocity space, along with instrument status annotations. Data availability varies by mission region, with burst resolution data not always downlinked, while survey resolution data is consistently available.

Use Cases

• Analyzing high-time-resolution electron dynamics based on 30 ms burst mode data.
• Studying partial plasma moments based on density_part and other velocity-space-limited integrals.
• Investigating instrument performance and data quality based on included system state annotations.
• Comparing plasma conditions inside and outside the mission's Region of Interest based on different operational modes.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, a flagship space physics observatory.
• Includes high-temporal-resolution burst mode measurements at 30 ms for the Dual Electron Spectrometer.
• Provides specialized partial moments, which are distinct from standard plasma moments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Burst resolution data is not fully downlinked per mission design, creating potential data gaps.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI) Dual Electron Spectrometer (DES) instrument on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 09:03:50.498023; freshness should be verified.