SANSA maintains observational equipment at Gough Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, Marion Island in the Southern Indian Ocean, the South African National Antarctic Expedition base IV (SANAE) in Antarctica, and on the SA Agulhas II research vessel.

Using instruments such as magnetometers, GPS receivers and a suite of instruments that monitor very low frequency (VLF) waves, researchers study the near-Earth space environment, particularly the disturbances to the Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar activity.