About the Data
Data Access
MMS science data is made available through the Science Data Center at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
The SDC has endeavoured to make the mission data available through as many different pathways as possible to meet the various needs of the scientific community.
- For direct access to single files, the SDC data directories are available for browsing. Files within may be downloaded and saved locally via your web browser.
- The SDC also provides a robust set of web services through a RESTful HTTPS API for accessing most science and ancillary data files. These services may be used by the community to access MMS data in the method that best fills their own needs. Full documentation and examples of the web services may be found here.
- The web services are also available via an interactive GUI interface on the Search page of this website.
- Finally, the most recently processed data files for each of the SMART instrument suites are listed and available for download on the following pages. These pages are particularly useful for those interested seeing the most
recently available data at multiple processing levels and provide information regarding the contents of the files as well.
Data Processing Status
Two SDC is actively developing a set of web based tools for the scientific community that will improve data access and usability. The first two of these tools are as follows:
The Data Availability Status tool provide at-a-glance status updates regarding availability of data from each instrument suite and MMS spacecraft.
The Mission Events Browser will provide a convienent list of mission events, be they operational or geophysical, that might be of note or importance to the community. This service is in final review now and will be released to the community in the near future.
The Data Availability Status tool provide at-a-glance status updates regarding availability of data from each instrument suite and MMS spacecraft.
The Mission Events Browser will provide a convienent list of mission events, be they operational or geophysical, that might be of note or importance to the community. This service is in final review now and will be released to the community in the near future.
Data Rights and Rules
The terms for distribution and use of the MMS data products are specified in the NASA Heliophysics Science Data Management Policy document, and are summarized here in terms of the MMS mission. These guidelines govern both the production and distribution of scientific data sets by the MMS program, and also use of the MMS data by the science community and general public, and are summarized below.
- Beginning no later than 6-months after instrument commissioning, MMS instrument teams will generate definitive, scientifically useful data products and deliver to the SOC within 30 days of downlink from each spacecraft.
- Users should use QuickLook data plots for event browsing, and not for scientific analysis or publication without express consent of the PI and relevant Lead Co-Investigators.
- MMS-SMART data products are open to all scientists and the public (Users).
- There are no proprietary periods associated with any of the MMS-SMART data products.
- Users shall have timely access to the scientifically useful data and analysis tools that are equivalent to the level that the MMS-SMART science working team uses.
- Users should contact the MMS-SMART Principal Investigator (PI) and the relevant lead co-investigators of the instrument or modeling group early in an analysis project to consult on the appropriate use of instrument data or model results.
- Users who wish to publish results derived from MMS data should directly involve the MMS-SMART PI and/or Instrument Leads and team members as appropriate in the analysis and are encouraged to offer co-authorship. Co-authorship may be declined.
- Users should heed the caveats of investigators as to the interpretation and limitations of data or model results. All important caveats should be included in the publication, even if co-authorship is declined. Data and model version numbers should also be specified.
- Users should acknowledge the sources of data used in all publications, presentations, and reports. Appropriate acknowledgement to institutions, personnel, and funding agencies should be given.
- Users should provide the MMS-SMART PI and/or instrument Lead CoIs a copy of each manuscript that uses MMS-SMART data upon submission of that manuscript for consideration of publication. Upon publication, the citation should be transmitted to the PI and any other providers of data.
- Users should widely distribute, to interested parties, their conference abstracts, presentations, and publications.
- Users should make tools of general utility and/or value-added data products widely available to the community, and to notify the MMS-SMART PI of such utilities or products, having clearly labeled the product as being different from an original MMS-SMART produced data product.