What type of information is crucial for maintaining radar separation between aircraft?

Maintaining radar separation between aircraft primarily relies on accurate position and altitude data. This information allows air traffic controllers to determine the distance and vertical separation between aircraft, which is essential for preventing collisions and ensuring safe flight operations. The position data indicates where each aircraft is located in the airspace, while altitude data helps to ascertain how high each aircraft is flying.

By continuously monitoring this data, controllers can issue timely instructions to pilots regarding altitude changes and lateral movements, thereby maintaining safe separation standards as per regulations. Other types of information, such as engine performance data, flight time estimates, or weather reports, may be important for overall flight management and safety but do not directly influence the immediate radar separation that ensures safe distances between aircraft in the airspace.