  A detailed characterization of the interaction between the most abundant
molecules in air is important for the understanding of a variety of phenomena
in atmospherical science. A completely {\em ab initio} global potential energy
surface (PES) for the O$_2(^3\Sigma^-_g)$ + N$_2(^1\Sigma^+_g)$ interaction is
reported for the first time. It has been obtained with the symmetry-adapted
perturbation theory utilizing a density functional description of monomers
[SAPT(DFT)] extended to treat the interaction involving high-spin open-shell
complexes. The computed interaction energies of the complex are in a good
agreement with those obtained by using the spin-restricted coupled cluster
methodology with singles, doubles and noniterative triple excitations
[RCCSD(T)]. A spherical harmonics expansion containing a large number of terms
due to the anisotropy of the interaction has been built from the {\em ab
initio} data. The radial coefficients of the expansion are matched in the long
range with the analytical functions based on the recent {\em ab initio}
calculations of the electric properties of the monomers [M. Bartolomei et al.,
J. Comp. Chem., {\bf 32}, 279 (2011)]. The PES is tested against the second
virial coefficient $B(T)$ data and the integral cross sections measured with
rotationally hot effusive beams, leading in both cases to a very good
agreement. The first bound states of the complex have been computed and
relevant spectroscopic features of the interacting complex are reported. A
comparison with a previous experimentally derived PES is also provided.
