MMS 3: Magnetospheric Multiscale Spacecraft Position and Magnetic Field Data

Magnetospheric Multiscale 3 (MMS 3) spacecraft Level-2 science data at 30-second resolution. The dataset includes spacecraft position, velocity, attitude, and magnetic ephemeris coordinates calculated using the Tsyganenko 2004 magnetic field model for disturbed conditions. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated on 2026-03 13.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetospheric field lines and footpoint tracing based on the Tsyganenko 2004 model.
• Analyzing spacecraft location relative to magnetic coordinates like L-shell and magnetic local time.
• Studying the relationship between spacecraft measurements and geomagnetic activity indices like Dst and Kp.
• Performing coordinate transformations between GEI and systems like GSE or SM using provided quaternions.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a specific, widely-used magnetospheric model (Tsyganenko 2004).
• Includes multiple calculated geophysical variables such as loss cone angles and magnetic field strength at footpoints.
• Provides ancillary data including geomagnetic activity indices (Dst, Kp) and eclipse flags.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Calculated from spacecraft measurements and the Tsyganenko 2004 magnetic field model.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:15:32.969476; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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