MMS 2 Fast Plasma Investigation: Plasma Distribution Moments at 0.15-Second Resolution

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission provides plasma distribution moments from the Fast Plasma Instrument's Dual Ion Spectrometer. The data includes burst mode measurements at 150-millisecond resolution and survey mode data at 4.5-second and 60-second resolutions, depending on the mission phase and region of interest. This Level 2 product contains integrated moments of phase space distributions, augmented with additional parameters and instrument state annotations.

Use Cases

• Analyzing rapid changes in plasma density and temperature based on high-time-resolution burst mode data.
• Studying magnetospheric boundary processes using the instrument's region-of-interest survey data.
• Modeling ion velocity distributions based on the integrated moments of phase space.
• Investigating instrument performance and calibration effects using the included state annotation parameters.

Strengths

• Data from NASA's authoritative Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.
• Includes high-resolution burst mode data at 150 milliseconds for ions.
• Provides multiple data resolutions (0.15 s, 4.5 s, 60 s) for different mission phases.
• Augments standard moments with additional parameters and instrument state timestamps.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Not all burst resolution data are downlinked per mission design.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite measurements from the MMS 2 spacecraft's Fast Plasma Investigation, Dual Ion Spectrometer.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:23:15.897130; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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