Geospace Facilities: Improving Millstone Geospace Radar Performance and Lifetime

位于马萨诸塞州韦斯特福德的麻省理工学院干草堆天文台的Millstone地球空间雷达设施使用非相干散射雷达（ISR）技术提供高层大气、电离层和近地等离子体环境的基本物理测量。凭借其山顶位置和完全可操纵的46米天线（MISA），该系统具有任何NSF运营的ISR设施的最大视野。它在中纬度有一个独特的地球物理位置，这对于在系统科学背景下理解地球空间以及观测空间天气效应至关重要。该设施收集的长期数据库（即60年）还使人们能够对低层与高层大气的耦合和高层大气气候趋势进行独特的研究。拟议的工作将使Millstone Geospace雷达用于ISR测量的灵敏度增加一倍。通过这种提高雷达灵敏度、实施适度增加发射机带宽、采用先进的雷达编码技术以及云信号处理等措施，雷达的测量性能将得到显著改善。这将提高社区对亚极光和中纬度地区的地球空间现象进行调查的能力，包括风暴增强密度，亚极光偏振流，零星E和2024年下一次美国大日食期间的大型瞬态事件。具体活动将包括（1）改进MISA馈电系统，（2）更新波导和发射机系统，（3）维修MISA基础，（4）更换MISA通道盖板和栏杆，（5）MISA涂层翻新，以及（6）改进天顶天线系统。该奖项将通过解决该设施中需要维修的几个长期领域来加强地球空间科学研究的基础设施。Millstone Geospace雷达设施的主要影响将包括天线的可访问性，用于教育和公共宣传，系统对公众的可见度，以及系统的应用，以加强国家安全。这些影响将通过该奖项得到加强。米尔斯通46米可操纵天线的效用将通过延长寿命和启用新的活动来增加。这将使麻省理工学院的学生项目，如在麻省理工学院电气工程和计算机科学和航空航天部门进行的项目，以及麻省理工学院的本科生研究机会计划的设施的扩大使用。它还将加强在麻省理工学院Haystack的单独资助的NSF REU项目下的社区学生研究，以及在年度NSF ISR学校的学生实验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Millstone Geospace radar facility at MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, MA provides fundamental physical measurements of the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and near-Earth plasma environment using the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) technique. With its hilltop location and fully steerable 46-meter antenna (MISA), the system has the largest field of view of any NSF-operated ISR facility. It has a unique geophysical location at middle latitudes which is crucial to understanding the Geospace in a system science context as well as for the observation of the Space Weather effects. The long-term database collected by the facility (i.e. 60 years) has also allowed unique studies into lower to upper atmosphere coupling and upper atmosphere climate trends. The proposed work will double the sensitivity of the Millstone Geospace radar for ISR measurements. Through this increase in radar sensitivity, the implementation of moderately increased transmitter bandwidth, use of advanced radar coding techniques, and cloud signal processing, the radar measurement performance will be significantly improved. This will enhance the community ability to conduct investigations into Geospace phenomena at the subauroral and mid-latitudes including the storm-enhanced density, subauroral polarization stream, sporadic E, and large transient events during the next Great US Solar Eclipse of 2024. The specific activities will include (1) improvements to the MISA feed system, (2) updates to the waveguide and transmitter systems, (3) repair of the MISA foundation, (4) replacement of the MISA access decking and railing, (5) MISA coating refurbishment, and (6) improvements to the zenith antenna system. This award will enhance the infrastructure for Geospace Science research by addressing several long-term areas in need of repair at the facility. Key broader impacts of the Millstone Geospace radar facility will include accessibility of the antenna for education and public outreach, visibility of the system to the general public, and application of the system to enhance national security. These impacts will be enhanced by this award. The utility of the 46-meter steerable antenna at Millstone will be increased through both improved longevity and by enabling new activities. This will enable expanded use of the facility for MIT student projects such as those conducted at the MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and AeroAstro departments, and the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. It will also enhance community student research under the separately funded NSF REU program at MIT Haystack and for student experiments at the annual NSF ISR school.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.