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Program Description
Due in part to the unique resources and the geophysical space environment found in the southern hemisphere, key research areas in this SOARD portfolio are Space Science and Space Situational Awareness. Unique features include the magnetic equator that passes through the heart of South America with a network of scintillation stations located throughout the region to monitor and study ionosphere perturbations that effect GPS and communications. Similarly, the SAMBA magnetometers network runs north and south down the length of Chile and into Antarctica used to study the earth’s magnetic fluxes and monitor magnetic storm effects. These stations are supported by NSF, NASA and the AFRL Space Vehicles (RV) Directorate. Finally, some of the world’s largest and most advanced astronomical observatories are located in the dry regions in the Andes of Argentina, Chile and Peru, taking advantage of what is considered by many as the darkest and clearest skies on the planet. Leveraging these unique resources, SOARD has formed research collaborations with several institutions in Latin America for the purpose of forecasting the geospace environment of Earth. This research is necessary for predicting satellite drag and radiation belt perturbations used in maintaining space situational awareness and for protecting AF space assets used in communications, navigation, and surveillance. Program Officer: Lt Col Michael Martinez.