Airborne Science

In 2025, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, advanced work across aeronautics, Earth science, exploration technologies, and emerging aviation systems, reinforcing its role as one of the agency’s primary test sites for aeronautics research.

Posted December 22, 2025

MAIA (Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols)

Airborne Science

Earth

Earth Science

NASA, Aerospace Corporation Study Sharpens Focus on Ammonia Emissions

The pungent gas contributes to fine airborne particulate pollution, which endangers human health when inhaled and absorbed in the bloodstream. A recent study led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the nonprofit Aerospace Corporation shows how high-resolution maps of ground-level ammonia plumes can be gener

Posted November 20, 2025

Air Quality

Airborne Science

Earth

Goddard Space Flight Center

Wallops Flight Facility

NASA Aircraft Coordinate Science Flights to Measure Air Quality

Magic is in the air. No wait… MAGEQ is in the air, featuring scientists from NASA centers across the country who teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and several other university and government partners and collaborators.

Posted September 24, 2025

Airborne Science

Aeronautics

Ames Research Center

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Wallops Flight Facility

NASA Aircraft to Make Low-Altitude Flights in Mid-Atlantic, California

From Sunday, June 22 to Wednesday, July 2, two research aircraft will make a series of low-altitude atmospheric research flights near Philadelphia, Baltimore, and some Virginia cities, including Richmond, as well as over the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea, and Central Valley in California.

Posted June 20, 2025

General

Aerosols

Airborne Science

Clouds

Earth

Langley Research Center

NASA 3D Wind Measuring Laser Aims to Improve Forecasts from Air, Space

Since last fall, NASA scientists have flown an advanced 3D Doppler wind lidar instrument across the United States to collect nearly 100 hours of data — including a flight through a hurricane. The goal?

Posted April 28, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Airborne Science

C-20A

Earth Science

Earth's Atmosphere

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Science Mission Directorate

NASA Tracks Snowmelt to Improve Water Management

As part of a science mission tracking one of Earth’s most precious resources – water – NASA’s C-20A aircraft conducted a series of seven research flights in March that can help researchers track the process and timeline as snow melts and transforms into a freshwater resource.

Posted April 25, 2025

Earth Science

Airborne Science

Earth

Earth Science Division

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Wildfires

NASA Airborne Sensor’s Wildfire Data Helps Firefighters Take Action

Data from the AVIRIS-3 sensor was recently used to create detailed fire maps in minutes, enabling firefighters in Alabama to limit the spread of wildfires and save buildings. A NASA sensor recently brought a new approach to battling wildfire, providing real-time data that helped firefighters in the field contain a blaze in Alabama.

Posted April 23, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Airborne Science

Earth Science

Earth Science Technology Office

Earth's Atmosphere

ER-2

Goddard Space Flight Center

Testing in the Clouds: NASA Flies to Improve Satellite Data

In February, NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft flew instruments designed to improve satellite data products and Earth science observations. From data collection to processing, satellite systems continue to advance, and NASA is exploring how instruments analyzing clouds can improve data measurement methods.

Posted April 17, 2025

Earth Science

Airborne Science

Armstrong Flight Research Center

B200

Earth Science Technology Office

Earth's Atmosphere

General

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Uses New Technology to Understand California Wildfires

The January wildfires in California devastated local habitats and communities. In an effort to better understand wildfire behavior, NASA scientists and engineers tried to learn from the events by testing new technology.

Posted March 1, 2025