The Arecibo Science Advocacy Partnership

The Arecibo Science Advocacy Partnership (ASAP) is a team of scientists and educators from Puerto Rico and around the world. ASAP seeks to retain and advance the scientific excellence of science at the Arecibo Observatory and to publicize its accomplishments in astronomy, aeronomy, and planetary radar. ASAP fully participates in contributing towards scientific, engineering, and educational plans for the development over the short term (1-3 yr), medium term (3-10 yr), and long term future of AO from the year 2021. ASAP also works to mobilize the existing broad base of support for Arecibo science within the fields it serves directly, the broad scientific community, and the general public. Please check out our full Statement of Purpose, and Statement on Assessing the Loss of the Telescope.

Science legacy of the Arecibo Observatory continues to produce new discoveries!
See informative graphics for publications, citations and reads.

Our Mission

The Arecibo Observatory offered a unique, multidisciplinary facility that facilitated ground-breaking research in all aspects of space science. As such, we at ASAP seek to preserve the historical legacy of the Arecibo Observatory and advocate to the public and to the US government for restoring its capabilities.

Join Us

To join ASAP, fill the linked form and pay the membership fee of USD15 or more (recommendation: USD50) using the Donate button below. As a paying member, you get to vote in the Board elections and stand as a candidate, and you help ASAP to cover the costs of advocation work and, if sufficient funds are available, to award students for research work related to Arecibo legacy data. ASAP runs fully by donations and volunteering.

Bylaws and Code of Conduct

Our Bylaws can be found here.

Click here for our Inclusivity and Anti-Harrassment Policy.

Board Members


Anne Virkki - Chair

University of Helsinki

Héctor Arce - Outgoing Chair

Yale University

Mike Nolan - Secretary

University of Arizona

Tracy Becker

Southwest Research Institute

Thankful Cromartie

Cornell University

Jim Breakall

Penn State

Paul Bernhardt

University of Alaska

Julio Urbina

Penn State

Joanna Rankin

Tech and Admin Committee Rep

Samuel Myers

Advocacy Committee Rep

Brett Isham

AO 2.0 Committee Rep