China completes ground-based environment monitoring network, boosting global space weather research

The Chinese Meridian Project (CMP) Phase II, a major national science and technology infrastructure project under the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), has seen its construction complete and passed national acceptance in late March, marking a significant leap in the nation’s space environment monitoring capabilities.

World's first comprehensive ground-based monitoring network

Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and having started construction in 2019, the project is the world’s first ground-based monitoring network capable of comprehensively observing the full layers of the Sun-Earth space environment, with its research topics spanning the solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere (Figure 1).

This achievement provides a Chinese solution for global space weather research, which is critical for safeguarding satellites, communication systems, navigation accuracy, and power grids from disruptive space weather events.

A breakthrough in space weather monitoring

CMP Phase II was developed by the National Space Science Center affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with 15 institutions across eight departments. The project introduces an innovative monitoring system, enabling end-to-end tracking of solar eruptions, their propagation through interplanetary space, and their impact on Earth’s space environment.