Dynamics Explorer 1 Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer (RIMS)

The Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer (RIMS) experiment onboard the Dynamics Explorer (DE) 1 satellite was designed to measure ion temperature and composition of the thermal plasma distribution. 
RIMS performed energy and mass analysis on low energy ions (<50 eV) with mass ranging from 1 to 40 amu. 
The RIMS had significantly improved capabilities over previous retarding potential analyzer (RPA) instruments by providing ion mass separation to produce RPA and spin curves for each programmed species.  
These enhanced instrument capabilities combined with the DE 1 orbit produced a unique opportunity to investigate the variable dynamics and composition of the low-energy ion population in the near-earth space environment. 
Each MAF file data record consists of 8 seconds of RIMS data (512 samples per channel, each sample 1/64 sec measurement), in time order with orbit and magnetometer data.  
One record is 5624 bytes in size. 
Studies of the RIMS dataset should be conducted only with a thorough understanding of the RIMS operational modes and the instrument response to these modes.
File names are of the form Dydddhhmm-hhmm.MF1_Y, with
	D is at the beginning of all RIMS MAF files
	y is the last digit of the year	ddd is the day count of the year
	hhmm_hhmm is the start and stop hour and minute of the pass
	_Y indicates a compressed data file. 
(NDADS Products: Dydddhhmm-hhmm.MF1_Y, DOCUMENT, SOFTWARE)
(Dataset ID 81-70A-04B)