Pioneer 11 Trapped Radiation Detector: 30-Minute Count Rates for Cruise Phases

NASA's Pioneer 11 Trapped Radiation Detector (TRD) dataset contains 30-minute count rates and averaged currents from multiple particle detection instruments. The data includes measurements from a Cerenkov counter, an electron scatter detector, and a minimizing ionizing particle counter, along with spacecraft position and attitude data. All data are for mission cruise phases and not planetary encounters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in high-energy electron and nuclei fluxes based on the 21 pulse-counting channels.
• Correlating particle measurements with spacecraft position and attitude data mentioned in the description.
• Studying the reliability and characteristics of electrometer-based current data, which the description notes is not reliable.
• Investigating particle energy thresholds for different detector types (e.g., electrons >6 MeV, nuclei >480 MeV/n).

Strengths

• Data includes measurements from 21 distinct pulse-counting channels.
• Contains integrated spacecraft position and attitude data for contextual analysis.
• Provided by the authoritative source NASA.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description explicitly states electrometer-based current data are not reliable.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft's Trapped Radiation Detector (TRD) instruments.

Time Range

Covers mission cruise phases.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:49:39.504220; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Outer solar system, along Pioneer 11's trajectory.