© Frank Nuijens
The aim of this in-house project is to explore and demonstrate how data products derived from LOFAR data may in the future benefit in the ESA Space Situational Awareness programme (SSA), space weather (SWE) service network.
During the project we will focus specifically on studying promising possibilities in three areas: Solar, Heliospheric, and Ionospheric data products. The activities include an analysis of the requirements of the ESA SSA SWE network, and consultations with the ESA Expert Service Centres of the three domains as well as with end users of the network in the Netherlands regarding tailored demonstrations products. During the last phase of the study we will present the requirements and further steps necessary in case some particular LOFAR data products are incorporated into the ESA SSA SWE network.
The photograph was taken during the kick-off meeting of this activity that took place at ASTRON on July 26, in the presence of ESA representatives Alexi Glover (space weather service coordinator) and Federico da Dalt (space weather applications scientist). Richard Fallows is the project scientist, Carla Baldovin the project manager, and Rene Vermeulen the project coordinator. Bert van den Oord from KNMI joined the meeting as representative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and in his role in the national space weather network SWENED. Among the participants we also had members of ASTRON involved in other current space weather activities.
We look forward to a very productive 12 months!