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FTPS from SPDF (not with most browsers)
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MESSENGER Magnetometer (MAG) Interplanetary Magnetic Field, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Coordinates, High Resolution, 1 s Data
var authors='Solomon, Sean, C.; Anderson, Brian, J.';
document.write(authors);
(2023).
MESSENGER Magnetometer (MAG) Interplanetary Magnetic Field, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Coordinates, High Resolution, 1 s Data.
[Data set].
Space Physics Data Facility.
https://doi.org/10.48322/9wyq-j955. Accessed on document.write(currentDateStr);.
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ResourceID
spase://NASA/NumericalData/MESSENGER/MAG/PT0.05S
Description
This MESSENGER Magnetic field data set contains cruise-phase magnetic field vectors in RTN coordinates at time resolutions typically of 0.5 s or 1.0 s and sometimes as fine as 0.05 s. The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, MESSENGER, mission is designed to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. The nominal orbit is planned to have a periapsis of 200 km at 60° N latitude, an apoapsis of 15,193 km, a period of 12 hours, and an inclination of 80°. The periapsis will slowly rise due to solar perturbations to over 400 km at the end of 88 days, one Mercury year, at which point it will be readjusted to a 200 km, 12 hour orbit via a two burn sequence. Data will be collected from orbit for one Earth year, the nominal primary mission was planned to end in March 2012. Specifically, the scientific objectives of the mission are to characterize: * the chemical composition of the surface of Mercury * the geologic history * the nature of the magnetic field * the size and state of the core * the volatile inventory at the poles * the nature of the Hermean exosphere and magnetosphere The MESSENGER mission should also yield: * global composition maps * a 3-D model of the magnetosphere of Mercury * topographic profiles of the northern hemisphere * gravity field to degree and order sixteen * altitude profiles of elemental species * a characterization of the volatiles in permanently shadowed craters at the poles The MESSENGER spacecraft is a squat box (1.27 m ⨯ 1.42 m ⨯ 1.85 m) with a semi-cylindrical thermal shade, roughly 2.5 m tall and 2 m wide, for protection from the Sun and two solar panel wings extending radially about 6 m from tip to tip. Five science instruments are mounted externally on the bottom deck of the main body: the Mercury Dual Imaging System, MDIS, Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer, GRNS, X-ray Spectrometer, XRS, Mercury Laser Altimeter, MLA, and Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer, MASCS. Radio Science, RS, experiments will use the existing communications system. The Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer, EPPS, is mounted on the side and top deck, and the magnetometer, MAG, is at the end of the 3.6 m boom. The Messenger MAG instrument is a miniature three-axis ring-core fluxgate magnetometer with low-noise electronics. It is mounted on a 3.6 m boom in the anti-sunward direction. The MAG has ±1530 and ±51300 nT ranges with 20-bit internal resolution and 17-bit output resolution. The MAG probe samples magnetic field values along the X, Y, and Z axes at a rate of up to 20 samples/s. The rate is commandable and can vary. This data set has 3-axis calibrated samples of the magnetic field in heliospheric RTN coordinates, Br, Bt, Bn, in units of nT. The spacecraft position data in these files are identified by radial distance from the Sun, latitude above the ecliptic plane, and azimuth with respect to the Earth-Sun line in the ecliptic plane. The MESSENGER Magnetometer data are also available from the Planetary Data System, Planetary Plasma Interactions, PDS/PPI, node via the URL; https://pds-ppi.igpp.ucla.edu/search/view/?f=yes&id=pds://PPI/MESS-E_V_H_SW-MAG-3-CDR-CALIBRATED-V1.0/DATA/RTN/. Hovever, the data are listed in plain text, space delimeted ASCII tables. Note that this SPASE Numerical Description only describes the MESSENGER Magnetometer data stored in Common Data Files.
Metadata Rights
CC0-1.0:
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Note
CC0 1.0 Universal is the Creative Commons license applicable to all publicly available SPASE metadata descriptions. The actual data/software may be subject to a different license.
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Version:2.7.1
NumericalData
ResourceID
spase://NASA/NumericalData/MESSENGER/MAG/PT0.05S
NamingAuthority
NASA
ResourceType
NumericalData
ResourceHeader
ResourceName
MESSENGER Magnetometer (MAG) Interplanetary Magnetic Field, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Coordinates, High Resolution, 1 s Data
DOI
https://doi.org/10.48322/9wyq-j955
ReleaseDate
2026-06-26 13:24:21Z
RevisionHistory
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2021-04-27 15:38:11Z
Note
Only known prior ReleaseDate of the metadata
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2023-07-30 12:34:56.789Z
Note
Added DOI and PublicationInfo minted by LFB, metadata versioned up to SPASE 2.6.0, reviewed by LFB 20230727
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2025-05-22 15:38:11Z
Note
Added ObservedRegion. JMW
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2025-10-02 15:12:03Z
Note
Updated PublishedBy name to match ROR Registry. Added ResourceType and NamingAuthority. Changed http to https in top-level schemaLocation attribute. Fixed version number separator in top-level schemaLocation attribute. Matched version number in schemaLocation attribute to updated value in Version tag. ZCB
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2025-12-04 13:29:54Z
Note
Added MetadataRightsList and RightsList(s). Updated to 2.7.1. ZCB
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2026-06-26 13:24:21Z
Note
Add 'Z' to RevisionEvent:ReleaseDate(s), PublicationDate, TemporalDescription:TimeSpan:StartDate, TemporalDescription:TimeSpan:StopDate. ZCB
Description
This MESSENGER Magnetic field data set contains cruise-phase magnetic field vectors in RTN coordinates at time resolutions typically of 0.5 s or 1.0 s and sometimes as fine as 0.05 s. The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, MESSENGER, mission is designed to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. The nominal orbit is planned to have a periapsis of 200 km at 60° N latitude, an apoapsis of 15,193 km, a period of 12 hours, and an inclination of 80°. The periapsis will slowly rise due to solar perturbations to over 400 km at the end of 88 days, one Mercury year, at which point it will be readjusted to a 200 km, 12 hour orbit via a two burn sequence. Data will be collected from orbit for one Earth year, the nominal primary mission was planned to end in March 2012. Specifically, the scientific objectives of the mission are to characterize: * the chemical composition of the surface of Mercury * the geologic history * the nature of the magnetic field * the size and state of the core * the volatile inventory at the poles * the nature of the Hermean exosphere and magnetosphere The MESSENGER mission should also yield: * global composition maps * a 3-D model of the magnetosphere of Mercury * topographic profiles of the northern hemisphere * gravity field to degree and order sixteen * altitude profiles of elemental species * a characterization of the volatiles in permanently shadowed craters at the poles The MESSENGER spacecraft is a squat box (1.27 m ⨯ 1.42 m ⨯ 1.85 m) with a semi-cylindrical thermal shade, roughly 2.5 m tall and 2 m wide, for protection from the Sun and two solar panel wings extending radially about 6 m from tip to tip. Five science instruments are mounted externally on the bottom deck of the main body: the Mercury Dual Imaging System, MDIS, Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer, GRNS, X-ray Spectrometer, XRS, Mercury Laser Altimeter, MLA, and Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer, MASCS. Radio Science, RS, experiments will use the existing communications system. The Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer, EPPS, is mounted on the side and top deck, and the magnetometer, MAG, is at the end of the 3.6 m boom. The Messenger MAG instrument is a miniature three-axis ring-core fluxgate magnetometer with low-noise electronics. It is mounted on a 3.6 m boom in the anti-sunward direction. The MAG has ±1530 and ±51300 nT ranges with 20-bit internal resolution and 17-bit output resolution. The MAG probe samples magnetic field values along the X, Y, and Z axes at a rate of up to 20 samples/s. The rate is commandable and can vary. This data set has 3-axis calibrated samples of the magnetic field in heliospheric RTN coordinates, Br, Bt, Bn, in units of nT. The spacecraft position data in these files are identified by radial distance from the Sun, latitude above the ecliptic plane, and azimuth with respect to the Earth-Sun line in the ecliptic plane. The MESSENGER Magnetometer data are also available from the Planetary Data System, Planetary Plasma Interactions, PDS/PPI, node via the URL; https://pds-ppi.igpp.ucla.edu/search/view/?f=yes&id=pds://PPI/MESS-E_V_H_SW-MAG-3-CDR-CALIBRATED-V1.0/DATA/RTN/. Hovever, the data are listed in plain text, space delimeted ASCII tables. Note that this SPASE Numerical Description only describes the MESSENGER Magnetometer data stored in Common Data Files.
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator S.C. Solomon and the instrument scientist, Brian Anderson for use of the Data
PublicationInfo
Authors
Solomon, Sean, C.; Anderson, Brian, J.
PublicationDate
2023-01-01 00:00:00Z
PublishedBy
Space Physics Data Facility
Contacts
Role
Person
StartDate
StopDate
Note
1.
PrincipalInvestigator
spase://SMWG/Person/Sean.C.Solomon
2.
PrincipalInvestigator
spase://SMWG/Person/Brian.J.Anderson
3.
MetadataContact
spase://SMWG/Person/Robert.M.Candey
4.
MetadataContact
spase://SMWG/Person/Lee.Frost.Bargatze
InformationURL
Name
NSSDC Master Catalog, MESSENGER, MAG instrument
URL
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=2004-030A-07
Description
General information concerning the MESSENGER, Magnetometer, MAG, instrument
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
MESSENGER Magnetometer data, PDS-PPI
URL
https://pds-ppi.igpp.ucla.edu/search/view/?f=yes&id=pds://PPI/MESS-E_V_H_SW-MAG-3-CDR-CALIBRATED-V1.0/DATA/RTN
Description
MESSENGER Magnetometer, MAG, calibrated data. This volume contains the MAG data from Earth to Mercury over the time interval 2004-08-12 to 2015-04-30, hosted by the Planetary Data System, Planetary Plasma Interactions node, PSD-PPI.
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
PDS Data Descriptive page
URL
https://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/ds-view/pds/viewProfile.jsp?dsid=MESS-E/V/H/SW-MAG-3-CDR-CALIBRATED-V1.0
Description
The MESSENGER Magnetometer, MAG, calibrated observations consist of time and position tagged magnetic field samples in physical units and coordinate systems collected by the MAG instrument during fly-by and orbital operations of Mercury. See information given for time intervals more likely to have data quality issues.
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
MESSENGER Magnetometer, MAG, instrument, Space Science Reviews publication
URL
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-007-9246-7
Description
Anderson, B.J., M.H. Acuna, D.A. Lohr, J. Scheifele, A. Raval, H. Korth, and J.A. Slavin, The Magnetometer instrument on MESSENGER, Space Sci. Rev., 2007, DOI: 10.1007/s11214-007-9246-7.
Language
en
PriorIDs
spase://VSPO/NumericalData/MESSENGER/MAG/PT0.05S
AccessInformation
RepositoryID
spase://SMWG/Repository/NASA/GSFC/SPDF/CDAWeb
Availability
Online
AccessRights
Open
RightsList
Rights
SchemeURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/
RightsIdentifierScheme
SPDX
RightsIdentifier
CC0-1.0
RightsURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html
RightsName
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Note
CC0 1.0 Universal is the Creative Commons license applicable to all publicly available NASA Heliophysics data products
AccessURL
Name
FTPS from SPDF (not with most browsers)
URL
ftps://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/messenger/mag/rtn_cdf/
Description
Access to Data in CDF Format via ftp from SPDF
AccessURL
Name
HTTPS from SPDF
URL
https://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/messenger/mag/rtn_cdf/
Description
Access to Data in CDF Format via http from SPDF
AccessURL
Name
CDAWeb
URL
https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eval2.cgi?dataset=MESSENGER_MAG_RTN&index=sp_phys
ProductKey
MESSENGER_MAG_RTN
Description
Access to ASCII, CDF, and Plots via NASA/GSFC CDAWeb
Format
CDF
Encoding
None
AccessDirectoryTemplate
https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/messenger/mag/rtn_cdf/$Y
AccessFilenameTemplate
messenger_mag_rtn_$Y$m$d_$v.cdf
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator S.C. Solomon and the instrument scientist, Brian Anderson. Please acknowledge the Data Providers, CDAWeb, and the organization from which the data were acquired.
AccessInformation
RepositoryID
spase://SMWG/Repository/NASA/GSFC/SPDF
Availability
Online
AccessRights
Open
AccessURL
Name
CDAWeb Programmatic Data Access
URL
https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/WS/cdasr/1/dataviews/sp_phys/datasets/MESSENGER_MAG_RTN/clientLibraryExample/
Style
WebService
ProductKey
MESSENGER_MAG_RTN
Description
Access to this data from common programming environments. Note: this AccessInformation element was added by HDPWS.
Format
Binary
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator S.C. Solomon and the instrument scientist, Brian Anderson. Please acknowledge the Data Providers, CDAWeb, and the organization from which the data were acquired.
AccessInformation
RepositoryID
spase://SMWG/Repository/NASA/GSFC/SPDF/CDAWeb
Availability
Online
AccessRights
Open
RightsList
Rights
SchemeURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/
RightsIdentifierScheme
SPDX
RightsIdentifier
CC0-1.0
RightsURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html
RightsName
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Note
CC0 1.0 Universal is the Creative Commons license applicable to all publicly available NASA Heliophysics data products
AccessURL
Name
CDAWeb HAPI Server
URL
https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/hapi
Style
HAPI
ProductKey
MESSENGER_MAG_RTN@0
ProductKey
MESSENGER_MAG_RTN@1
Description
Web Service to this product using the HAPI interface.
Format
CSV
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator S.C. Solomon and the instrument scientist, Brian Anderson. Please acknowledge the Data Providers, CDAWeb, and the organization from which the data were acquired.
ProcessingLevel
Calibrated
InstrumentIDs
spase://SMWG/Instrument/MESSENGER/Ephemeris
spase://SMWG/Instrument/MESSENGER/Magnetometer
MeasurementType
Ephemeris
MeasurementType
InstrumentStatus
MeasurementType
MagneticField
TemporalDescription
TimeSpan
StartDate
2004-08-12 17:44:08.000Z
StopDate
2011-05-18 00:00:09.000Z
Cadence
PT0.05S
ObservedRegion
Mercury.Magnetosphere
ObservedRegion
Mercury.Magnetosphere.Magnetotail
ObservedRegion
Mercury.Magnetosphere.Main
ObservedRegion
Mercury.Magnetosphere.Polar
Parameter #1
Name
Epoch Time
ParameterKey
Epoch
Description
Epoch Time Tag, Number of ms since the Epoch
Caveats
This Parameter exhibits an increasing Monotonic Progression
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
ms
UnitsConversion
1.0e-3>s
RenderingHints
AxisLabel
Epoch
ValueFormat
E14.8
ScaleMin
6.2985233019904e+13
ScaleMax
6.2985319419904e+13
ValidMin
12-Nov-1994 00:00:00.000
ValidMax
31-Dec-2030 00:00:00.000
FillValue
31-Dec-9999 23:59:59.999
Support
SupportQuantity
Temporal
Parameter #2
Name
Mission Elapsed Time, MET
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
MissionElapsedTime
Description
Mission Elapsed Time, MET, for the entire science packet
Caveats
The MET value is dericed by using the following formula: MET+0.05*delta_ts+(dt_sample)*(I-1)-latency. MET is the mission elapsed time for the entire science packet. The variable delta_ts corresponds to the delta time in seconds between the MET and the first sample in the downloaded science packet. The variable dt_sample is the time between samples in seconds and is equal to the inverse of sample_rate where sample_rate is the reported sample rate in samples per second is the incremental counter for each data sample in the science packet equal t denotes the first sample in the packet. Latency is the sample rate-dependent delay of the time stamp recording relative to the actual time of observation.
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
s
RenderingHints
AxisLabel
Mission elap time
ValueFormat
E15.8
ValidMin
0.0
ValidMax
1.0e+11
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Support
Qualifier
Scalar
SupportQuantity
Temporal
Parameter #3
Name
Spacecraft Position, Heliocentric Radial Distance
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
radialDistance
Description
Spacecraft Position, Heliocentric Radial Distance, R
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
km
UnitsConversion
1.0e3>m
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Spherical
CoordinateSystemName
HEE
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
S/C Radial Dist
ValueFormat
E15.7
ValidMin
-1.0e+11
ValidMax
1.0e+11
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Support
Qualifier
Magnitude
Qualifier
Scalar
SupportQuantity
Velocity
Parameter #4
Name
Spacecraft Position, Latitude, HEE Spherical Coordinates
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
latitude_ecliptic
Description
Spacecraft Position, Latitude, Heliocentric Earth Ecliptic, HEE, Spherical Coordinates
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
°
UnitsConversion
0.0174532925>rad
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Spherical
CoordinateSystemName
HEE
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
S/C Latitude
ValueFormat
F12.4
ValidMin
-90.0
ValidMax
90.0
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Support
Qualifier
DirectionAngle.ElevationAngle
Qualifier
Scalar
SupportQuantity
Velocity
Parameter #5
Name
Spacecraft Position, Longitude, HEE Spherical Coordinates
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
azimuth_ecliptic
Description
Spacecraft Position, Longitude, Heliocentric Earth Ecliptic, HEE, Spherical Coordinates
Caveats
Azimuthal angle of MESSENGER spacecraft in the instantaneous ecliptic plane with respect to the Earth-Sun line in units of degrees, positive in direction of the orbital motion of the Earth wit in J2000 coordinates
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
°
UnitsConversion
0.0174532925>rad
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Spherical
CoordinateSystemName
HEE
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
S/c Azimuth
ValueFormat
F12.2
ValidMin
-360.0
ValidMax
360.0
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Support
Qualifier
DirectionAngle.AzimuthAngle
Qualifier
Scalar
SupportQuantity
Velocity
Parameter #6
Name
Magnetic Field Radial Component, RTN
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
B_radial
Description
Magnetic Field Radial Component, Br, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Cartesian Coordinates
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
nT
UnitsConversion
1.0e-9>T
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Cartesian
CoordinateSystemName
RTN
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
Br (All Quals)
ValueFormat
F10.3
ValidMin
-10000.0
ValidMax
10000.0
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Field
Qualifier
Component.I
Qualifier
Scalar
FieldQuantity
Magnetic
Parameter #7
Name
Magnetic Field Tangential Component, RTN
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
B_tangential
Description
Magnetic Field Tangential Component, Bt, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Cartesian Coordinates
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
nT
UnitsConversion
1.0e-9>T
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Cartesian
CoordinateSystemName
RTN
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
Bt (All Quals)
ValueFormat
F10.3
ValidMin
-10000.0
ValidMax
10000.0
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Field
Qualifier
Component.J
Qualifier
Scalar
FieldQuantity
Magnetic
Parameter #8
Name
Magnetic Field Normal Component, RTN
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
B_normal
Description
Magnetic Field Normal Component, Bn, Radial-Tangential-Normal, RTN, Cartesian Coordinates
Cadence
PT0.05S
Units
nT
UnitsConversion
1.0e-9>T
CoordinateSystem
CoordinateRepresentation
Cartesian
CoordinateSystemName
RTN
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
Bn (All Quals)
ValueFormat
F10.3
ValidMin
-10000.0
ValidMax
10000.0
FillValue
-1.0e+31
Field
Qualifier
Component.K
Qualifier
Scalar
FieldQuantity
Magnetic
Parameter #9
Name
Data Quality Flag
Set
Time series defined by using: EPOCH
ParameterKey
Quality_Flag
Description
Data Quality Flag: a three digit daily quality flag, a value equal to 222 or 223 denotes a good condition with boom deployed, sensor in shadow, and all heater contamination corrected
Cadence
PT0.05S
RenderingHints
DisplayType
TimeSeries
AxisLabel
Quality Flag
ValueFormat
I3
ValidMin
0
ValidMax
999
FillValue
-2147483648
Support
Qualifier
Scalar
SupportQuantity
Velocity