National Solar Observatory's Global Oscillations Network Group (NSO GONG)
GONG is a worldwide network of six identical robotic telescopes providing 24/7 observations of the Sun.
NSO/GONG Governance: NSO is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA); NISP, which operates GONG, is a program within NSO. AURA's Solar Observatory Council (SOC) provides independent management oversight of NSO.
Funding: NSO is funded via a cooperative agreement with NSF. GONG's R&D is funded by NSF and external research grants, GONG operations are funded by NOAA via an Inter-Agency Agreement with NSF.
Stakeholders and Primary Communities: US Government Agencies (NSF, NOAA, DOD); space weather operations (SWPC); and the solar physics research communities.
NISP/GONG objectives and activities: NSO's NISP goals are to: (a) provide synoptic context observations to characterize the variable solar activity; (b) operate/develop ground-based facilities to enable long-term observations; and (c) conduct innovative solar research. GONG goals are to provide relevant data both for use in space weather prediction and for scientific research.