A groundbreaking ceremony for the Siziwang Banner station of China's Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network is held on June 23. [Photo/Beijing Daily]

The Siziwang Banner station of the Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network, China's major science and technology infrastructure, officially started construction in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on June 23.

The Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network is the second phase of the Meridian Project, a major scientific research project on space weather monitoring.

Information from the Center for Space Science and Applied Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that the Siziwang Banner station covers an area of about 400 mu (26.67 hectares) and is expected to complete basic construction in 2023.

Siziwang Banner is an important aerospace landing site in China. 

It is located in the middle of the mid-latitude area along the meridian of the country. This special geographical location makes the Siziwang Banner station a great place to monitor the geospatial environment.

When the station is completed, it will be capable of real-time monitoring of disturbances in the ionosphere, middle and upper atmosphere, cosmic rays, and geomagnetic field in northern China, enhancing the country's ground-based space environmental monitoring capabilities.