The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program facility, or HAARP, is in the midst of a massive science campaign that will see the facility bounce signals from the moon and Jupiter.
HAARP consists of 180 antennas designed to transmit signals into ionospherewhich extends from 30 miles (48 kilometers) to 600 miles (965 km) above sea level and is seen as the area where Earth’s atmosphere meets space, according to NASA (opens in new tab). The ionosphere plays an important role in radio transmission, as it reflects radio waves. Many satellites occupy this part of the atmosphere, which is strongly influenced by the solar weather.
HAARP is in the midst of a 10-day research campaign that is the facility’s “largest and most diverse yet,” HAARP program manager Jessica Matthews said in a statement (opens in new tab). Among the 13 experiments being conducted during the campaign are projects that will see signals bounced off the Moon and Jupiter to test HAARP’s ability to study objects far from Earth.
Related: NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON): Explore Earth’s ionosphere
One of the most ambitious experiments being conducted under HAARP’s current campaign is known as the “Jupiter Bounce” or “Interplanetary Ionosonde.” according to a statement from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) (opens in new tab). The experiment will test HAARP’s ability to bounce signals off Jupiter’s ionosphere, while also determining how well receivers at the University of New Mexico’s Long Wavelength Array can receive the reflected signals. The experiment is “the largest active remote sensing operation in history,” according to the UAF statement.
“This is a first-of-its-kind experiment (that) at least to my knowledge, has never been attempted before,” HAARP research support services director Evans Callis told Alaska Public Media (opens in new tab). “We are transmitting several different frequencies from HAARP aimed at Jupiter. We are listening for the echo that comes back, which should be able to tell us something about the electromagnetic conditions around Jupiter.”
Another experiment, known as “Moon Bounce,” will see signals bounce off the moon back toward receivers in New Mexico and California. These signals will be evaluated for their use in determining the composition of near-Earth asteroids for future planetary defense purposes.
Meanwhile, HAARP’s “Making the Invisible Visible” experiment will “test whether hot electrons are capable of producing the continuum (white) emission found in the STEVE airglow.” STEVE, short for Strong improvement in thermal emission rateis an aurora-like phenomenon that occurs when charged particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s ionosphere.
“If we see the air glow and it matches the wavelength of light that we see from naturally occurring STEVEs, that would give us an indication that the hot electrons play some role in the formation of STEVEs,” Callis said.
Read more: Strange aurora-like STEVE phenomenon captured in stunning night sky photo
One of the more unique experiments, “Ghosts in the Airglow,” will blend art and atmospheric research to “play with the liminal boundaries of Earth’s atmosphere and outer space,” according to the project’s website (opens in new tab). The experiment will use HAARP to bounce images, spoken words, and sound artifacts off the ionosphere to learn more about radio propagation.
The HAARP facility was built in 1993 and was originally operated by several US military research agencies, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Office of Naval Research. 2015 was the ownership of the facility transferred to UAF (opens in new tab).
Although the facility is primarily used for upper atmosphere research, the facility has been subject to many conspiracy theories (opens in new tab) in the nearly three decades since it was built. Some have accused the US government of using the facility to alter the weather, trigger earthquakes, create “chemtrails” or even to sending mind control signals (opens in new tab).
To date, there has been no evidence that the facility was used for mind control or anything other than atmospheric research. According to “Frequently Asked Questions” page on HAARP’s website (opens in new tab)“Neuroscience is a complex field of study conducted by medical professionals, not scientists and researchers at HAARP.”
Follow Brett on Twitter at @brettingley (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
#Huge #HAARP #antenna #array #bounces #radio #signals #Jupiter