The purpose of this workshop is to provide information and options for deciding how to collect the transmitted data from the next generation of polar orbiting satellites for use by the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) in Antarctica. The L-band direct broadcast satellites currently used by USAP are being replaced by X-band direct broadcast satellites as soon as 2006. The new satellites offer increased capabilities and open the doors to new science and possibilities for observing and learning about the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere system. However, there is a need for lead-time to prepare to acquire and train for the applications of the new streams of data. The new satellite systems require X-band receiving equipment. One option is to utilize the existing McMurdo Ground Station (MGS) X-band receiving system. The MGS is an Earth reception station at McMurdo Station, Antarctica installed in 1993 with the goal of collecting data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor equipped satellites. Funded mutually by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this reception system has been pivotal in the collection of remotely sensed satellite data that would not be otherwise available as well as being utilized in the support of satellite and spacecraft commanding. The goals and uses of the MGS are at a crossroad, however. The focus of the workshop is to have the Antarctic science and operations community discuss the capabilities of the next generation satellite fleet along with applications and reception possibilities with a focus on the MGS, especially as it relates to USAP research and operation activities.
Interdisciplinary participation will be sought from the fields of meteorology, oceanography, glaciology, biology and operations. The workshop goal is to understand the changes coming in the near future, explore the implications for the USAP, and to present options for adapting the upcoming changes for the benefit of the USAP. The outcome of the workshop is to produce a written report, The Future of the Next Generation Satellite Fleet and the McMurdo Ground Station, will address uses, applications, automation, and operation of the ground station(s) for the benefit of the participants of USAP. The report from the workshop will be broadly disseminated both in hardcopy and on-line versions. This workshop will give the Antarctic science community the opportunity to learn about the possibilities that this situation offers the USAP and to offer recommendations.