| Summary: | Space based observations of extensive air showers constitute the next experimental challenge for the study of the universe at extreme energy. Space observation will allow a “quantum jump” in the observational area available to detect the UV light tracks produced by particles with energies higher than 1020 eV. These are thought to reach the Earth almost undeflected by the cosmic magnetic field. This new technique will contribute to establish the new field of astronomy and astrophysics performed with charged particles and neutrinos at the highest energies. This idea was created by the incredible efforts of three outstanding comic ray physicists: John Linsley, Livio Scarsi, and Yoshiyuki Takahashi. This challenging technique has four significant merits in comparison with ground-based observations: 1) Very large observational area, 2) Well constrained distances of the showers, 3) Clear and stable atmospheric transmission in the above half troposphere, 4) Uniform Exposure across both the north and south skies. Four proposed and planned missions constitute the roadmap of the community: TUS, JEM-EUSO, KLPVE, and Super-EUSO will contribute step-by-step to establish this challenging field of research.
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