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Scenes from CTD water collection party. Courtesy of Jessica Caggiano and Jacob Wenegrat.

Elation Through Filtration: An Oceanographer’s Sensations at Sea

Being a biological oceanographer on a physical oceanographic voyage has highlighted a key distinction between the two disciplines. Physical oceanograp...

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A layer of dust layered atop a cloud, as seen from the window of the DC-8 Airborne Laboratory. Credit: NASA/Kris Bedka

In Dust and Clouds Over Africa, Scientists Find Clues to How...

When the dust that wafts off the Sahel and Sahara regions of Africa mixes with tropical clouds, it creates what’s known as a rainy “disturbance”...

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A look at NASA’s new mission to explore the Earth’s oceans

​Scientists at NASA are on a mission to study the surface of the Earth's oceans to observe how eddies, whirlpools and currents interact with the atm...

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Kelly Luis, a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, uses a handheld instrument called the Spectral Evolution to measure water color during the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) mission. Image Credit: NASA/Avery Snyder

On the Edge: NASA’s Last S-MODE Mission Studies the Ocean’s...

NASA has taken to the seas and skies to study the unique environment at the ocean’s surface, where marine ecosystems intersect with our planet's com...

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Scientists on the RV Sally Ride are interviewed

Dr. Brenna Biggs Presents “Wave” Hello to NASA S-MODE: A Study...

Dr. Brenna Biggs hosted a panel of S-MODE scientists at an Earth Day event at the Chabot Space and Science Center for K-12 students on April 22, 2023....

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Florian Schwandner (left), director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center, describes to U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo the use of autonomous uncrewed aircraft to carry cameras and sensors for monitoring of environmental events such as wildfires or volcanic activity. Credits: NASA/Dominic Hart

NASA Leaders View Climate Science, Wildfire Innovations at NASA...

NASA is working to understand climate change and build resilience to its risks, such as the increasing threat of wildfire, for the nation and the worl...

NASA Leaders View Climate Science, Wildfire Innovations at NASA Ames
Florian Schwandner (left), director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center, describes to U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo the use of autonomous uncrewed aircraft to carry cameras and sensors for monitoring of environmental events such as wildfires or volcanic activity. Credits: NASA/Dominic Hart

NASA Leaders View Climate Science, Wildfire Innovations at NASA...

NASA is working to understand climate change and build resilience to its risks, such as the increasing threat of wildfire, for the nation and the worl...

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About the Airborne Science Program

 

The Airborne Science Program within the Earth Science Division is responsible for providing aircraft systems that further science and advance the use of satellite data. The primary objectives of this program are to:

  • Satellite Calibration and Validation
    Provide platforms to enable essential calibration measurements for the Earth observing satellites, and the validation of data retrieval algorithms.
  • Support New Sensor Development
    Provide sub-orbital flight opportunities to test and refine new instrument technologies/algorithms, and reduce risk prior to committing sensors for launch into space.
  • Process Studies
    Obtain high-resolution temporal and spatial measurements of complex local processes, which can be coupled to global satellite observations for a better understanding of the complete Earth system.
  • Develop the Next-Generation of Scientists and Engineers
    Foster the development of our future workforce with the hands-on involvement of graduate students, and young scientists/engineers in all aspects of ongoing Earth science investigations.

To meet these observing objectives ASP maintains and operates a suite of sustained, ongoing platforms and sensors on which investigators can rely from year to year. From these known capabilities the Science Mission Directorate can develop observing strategies. However, an ongoing capability will be resource-constrained and eventually technology-constrained, so that not all observing requirements will be met with the limited core capability. Therefore the program facilitates access to other platforms or sensors on a funds-available, as-needed basis, to accommodate unique and/or occasional requirements. The Program also looks for new or evolving technologies to demonstrate their applicability for Earth science. Depending on the success of the demonstrations and the observing needs, the core capability is expected to evolve and change over time. The speed and extent of change will be balanced against the need for established, known capabilities for long-term planning.