Ground Station

The museum has opened a new special exhibit in partnership with the Alaska Satellite Facility. The exhibit, Observing Our Dynamic Planet, showcases how synthetic aperture radar data is acquired and how it allows us to study global agriculture, forestry, permafrost, flooding events, volcanoes, earthquakes, sea ice, and glaciers. Joining us in this episode are Wade Albright, Director of the Alaska Satellite Facility and Paul Austin, ASF Ground Station Manager to talk about ASF’s most visible landmarks, the 10-meter antennas on the UAF campus. What are they? How do they work? What satellites are we talking to? And what is in store for the facility with the forthcoming launch of NASA’s latest earth-observing satellite?

In addition to Paul and Wade, we’ll hear from Bill Hauer, ASF Science Consultant, Kim Fairbanks, ASF Software Engineer, Rebecca Miller, ASF Product Owner, and Tamara Martz, UAMN Exhibits lead Designer, talking over the exhibit construction noise, as the show came together.

The More You Look is a production of the UA Museum of the North, on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the ancestral lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River. UAMN illuminates the natural history and cultural heritage of Alaska and the North through collections, research, education, and partnerships, and by creating a singular museum experience that honors diverse knowledge and respect for the land and its peoples.