SWFITEM: Solar Wind Fitting for Investigations of Thermodynamics and Energetics at Mars - A MAVEN dataset

Robin Ramstad; Jasper Halekas; Laila Andersson; David Brain; Jared Espley; David Mitchell; James McFadden; Alexandros Chapasis; Yaxue Dong; Nadia Gonzales; Shannon Curry

doi:10.1038/s41597-025-06530-3

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SWFITEM: Solar Wind Fitting for Investigations of Thermodynamics and Energetics at Mars - A MAVEN dataset

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SWFITEM: Solar Wind Fitting for Investigations of Thermodynamics and Energetics at Mars - A MAVEN dataset

Robin Ramstad, Jasper Halekas, Laila Andersson, David Brain, Jared Espley, David Mitchell, James McFadden, Alexandros Chapasis, Yaxue Dong, Nadia Gonzales, …

Scientific data, Vol.13(1), 213

2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-06530-3

PMID: 41526399

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Abstract

Solar wind measurements by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission provide samples of the heliosphere at 1.38-1.67 AU, and of the upstream conditions that drive numerous processes in the near-Mars plasma environment. We reduce ion measurements from MAVEN's Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA), using contextual magnetic field measurements, to 13 independent macroscopic plasma parameters by fitting a convolution of SWIA's 3-dimensional response function and a superposition of phase-space bi-kappa distribution functions to each measured distribution using an iterative Poisson optimization scheme. This ensemble of parameters represents the solar wind H core, H beam, and He (alpha) populations, effectively separating each population's contribution to any measured distribution. Sporadic plasma frequency measurements from MAVEN's Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) instrument are used to calibrate the SWIA measurements such that ion charge densities match LPW-derived electron charge densities. The resulting dataset is effectively ground-truthed, largely corrected for instrumental particularities, and provides a rich timeline of solar wind properties at Mars, including composition, velocities, temperature anisotropies, differential drifts, and degree of thermalization.

Details

Title: Subtitle: SWFITEM: Solar Wind Fitting for Investigations of Thermodynamics and Energetics at Mars - A MAVEN dataset
Creators: Robin Ramstad - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Jasper Halekas - University of Iowa
Laila Andersson - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
David Brain - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Jared Espley - Goddard Space Flight Center
David Mitchell - University of California, Berkeley
James McFadden - University of California, Berkeley
Alexandros Chapasis - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Yaxue Dong - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Nadia Gonzales - The University of Texas at Austin
Shannon Curry - University of Colorado Boulder
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Scientific data, Vol.13(1), 213
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-06530-3
PMID: 41526399
NLM abbreviation: Sci Data
ISSN: 2052-4463
eISSN: 2052-4463
Publisher: Springer Nature
Grant note: 22-PDAR22-0012 / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 01/13/2026
Date published: 2026
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9985121500602771

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