Geospace Facilities: Improving Millstone Geospace Radar Performance and Lifetime

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.