Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at @meghanbartels.
, a few space-related facilities could be at risk, depending on how the eruption unfolds.
Perhaps the most recognizable among them is the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System , which identifies near-Earth asteroids. The project operates four different observatories, one of which is atop Mauna Loa; the network as a whole has identified 145 new asteroids so far this year,"The lava right now is confined to the caldera," John Tonry, an astronomer at the University of Hawai'i and one of the principal investigators of ATLAS, told Space.com in an email.
Mauna Loa hosts a second astronomical observatory as well, this one in connection with the National Center for Atmospheric Research's High Altitude Observatory. This larger facility focuses predominantly on atmospheric research, but does also include the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, which monitors the"Out of caution, our observers won't be going up there today," Holly Gilbert, a solar scientist and director of the High Altitude Observatory, told Space.com in an email.
The mountain is also the site of a very different type of space research, thanks to the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation facility. HI-SEAS is home to a large, dome-like habitat that can host six people at a time. Missions at HI-SEAS are meant to practice for future exploration on the
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