On May 7, 2015, the Brazilian Space Weather Study and Monitoring Program (Embrace) was honored to receive the visit of the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dr. Bai Chunli, hosted by the Director of INPE, Dr. Leonel Fernando Perondi, to celebrate the installation of the Sino-Brazilian Laboratory for Space Weather.
On this occasion, Dr. Bai Chunli could verify the progress of cooperation between the Embrace Program and the Meridian Project. The installation of the data center set was completed in Cachoeira Paulista-SP along with real-time connection to the Embrace/INPE Data Center in São José dos Campos-SP, which will be extend to the Data Center at the National Center for Space Science (NSSC) in Beijing.
“This task has been a challenge because we are establishing a direct connection for data exchange between two mainlands. Fortunately, despite the difficulties we have been successful in this task due to our partnership with Imaging Division and the Coordination of Computer Systems of INPE “says Dr. Marcelo Banik, Program Operations Manager Embrace.
In addition, it was announced the initiation of proceedings for the construction of instrumentation center for space research to be installed in INPE’s facility in Santa Maria, in the town of Pains, land granted by the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) to INPE under the INPE-UFSM Cooperation Agreement.
Dr. Clezio Marcos De Nardin, General Manager of Embrace Program said that “this partnership has the mark of the success because we have negotiated the terms of international cooperation with China this March 2010 and everything that we have set has been successfully fulfilled by both sides”. Furthermore, this partnership has already expansion plans. “In addition to the ground instrumentation that are being purchasing, the Embrace Program and d the Meridian Project has already started a discussion on a Space Weather satellites of equatorial orbit, which is already included in the Brazil-China Ten Year Plan signed by the Presidents of the two countries last year, “said Dr. Joaquim Eduardo Rezende Costa, Manager for Research, Development and Innovation of the Embrace Program.
To end the visit, Dr. Bai Chunli planted a Manacá da Serra (Tibouchina mutabilis) next to the main entrance of INPE, “a tree that hopefully flourishes as it has flourishing our partnership,” said Dr. Clezio Marcos De Nardin.