MMS FPI Plasma Distribution Moments from Dual Ion Spectrometer

NASA's Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI) instrument on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission provides plasma distribution moments. The Dual Ion Spectrometer (DIS) data are aggregated onboard from burst resolution to survey resolution of 4.5 seconds within the mission's region of interest. This Level 2 product includes integrated moments and additional parameters characterizing the instrument state.

Use Cases

• Analyzing plasma bulk properties like density and velocity based on integrated distribution moments.
• Studying magnetospheric phenomena within the MMS region of interest based on fast survey mode data.
• Comparing plasma behavior in different operational modes based on fast (4.5 s) and slow (60 s) survey resolutions.
• Investigating instrument calibration and operational state based on included annotation parameters.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA's MMS mission, a recognized scientific satellite program.
• Provides plasma moments at a high temporal resolution of 4.5 seconds in fast survey mode.
• Includes additional annotation parameters characterizing the instrument system state.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data availability depends on mission phase and operational mode, with slower 60-second resolution outside the region of interest.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Fast Plasma Instrument (FPI) Dual Ion Spectrometer onboard the MMS satellites.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 09:03:09.250172; freshness should be verified.