HamSCI Lands Nearly $5.5 Million NASA Grant to Bring Space Science to Communities Nationwide

Citizen science and amateur radio have been quietly reinforcing each other for years, and NASA has just put real money behind that relationship at a national scale.

HamSCI — the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation — will lead a significant NASA-funded effort to expand public engagement in space science. Funded through NASA's Science Activation (SciAct) program as a cooperative agreement, the citizen-science group has been entrusted with a grant totalling nearly $5.5 million to lead a space education initiative centred on space weather and amateur radio, with the University of Scranton serving as the lead academic institution. The project's goal is to bring scientific discovery out of research labs and into schools, libraries, museums, and communities across the country.

Leadership and Partners

HamSCI founder Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D. (W2NAF), will serve as principal investigator on the project, titled "Discovering the SPARC: Space Physics Through Amateur Radio Connections." Collaborating institutions include the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Space Science Institute, MIT Haystack Observatory, the University of Alabama, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with Kera Collective serving as external evaluator. The grant will run as a five-year agreement through 2031.

Dr. Frissell called it "an extremely competitive and significant grant," noting that SciAct is one of NASA's premier programmes for giving its science back to the public that funds it, and that the award creates a unique opportunity to partner with NASA and other SciAct grantees in a way that will magnify HamSCI's overall impact.

Discovery Stations and a National Monitor Network

The project's centrepiece is a set of "Discovery Stations," to be installed at public venues, letting visitors see real-time space weather data and learn firsthand how solar activity affects communications.

The grant will also fund the deployment of roughly 85 Citizen Science Space Weather Monitors across the country. These stations will collect data on radio signals and ionospheric conditions, feeding observations into a national research network while doubling as a public education tool. The approach leans directly on HamSCI's established strength: connecting amateur radio operators with professional scientists to produce genuinely useful research through grassroots effort — something already demonstrated through its recent work studying solar eclipses and meteor showers.

The ARRL Teachers Institute will also provide educators with curriculum materials linking classroom lessons directly to live NASA data.

Built to Outlast the Funding

Beyond the technology and programming itself, the initiative is designed to leave behind a self-sustaining network of teachers, amateur radio operators, citizen scientists, and community partners — one with continued access to NASA science well after the initial funding period wraps up.

For Dr. Frissell, one of the most valuable parts of the award is the chance to collaborate across organisations, developing new ideas and approaches that go beyond what any single institution could manage alone. "We will be innovating and collaborating with teams across the SciAct portfolio," he said. "I can only imagine the great things that will come of this."

About HamSCI

HamSCI exists to foster collaboration between professional researchers and amateur radio operators, helping develop and maintain standards and agreements among everyone involved. Its broader goals are to advance scientific research through amateur radio activity, encourage the development of modern technologies in support of that research, and provide educational opportunities for both the amateur community and the wider public.

For more information about HamSCI, or to join its mailing list, visit www.hamsci.org.