MMS HPCA: Magnetospheric Ion Composition Data at 0.625-Second Resolution

Five ion species—protons, alpha particles, helium ions, singly charged oxygen, and background counts—are measured across 63 energy levels and 16 azimuths every 0.625 seconds. The Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (HPCA) instruments on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission capture this data in the 1 eV to 40 keV energy range. NASA produced this Level 2 survey data, last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling plasma behavior in Earth's magnetosphere based on multi-species ion measurements.
• Analyzing energy distribution of ions based on 63 distinct energy levels.
• Studying temporal plasma variations based on high-resolution 0.625-second sampling.
• Investigating ion composition ratios based on counts for H+, He++, He+, and O+.

Strengths

• Measures five distinct ion species (H+, He++, He+, O+, background).
• Provides high temporal resolution with a data point every 0.625 seconds.
• Covers a wide energy spectrum from 1 eV to 40 keV across 63 energy levels.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (HPCA) instruments on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:11:13.800890; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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