Airborne Science

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

Airborne Science

Armstrong Flight Research Center

B200

Earth Science

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Explores Earth Science with New Navigational System

NASA and its partners recently tested an aircraft guidance system that could help planes maintain a precise course even while flying at high speeds up to 500 mph. The instrument is Soxnav, the culmination of more than 30 years of development of aircraft navigation systems. NASA’s G-IV aircraft flew its first mission to test this […]

Posted February 7, 2025

Airborne Science

Ames Research Center

Earth Science Division

NASA Awards Contract for Airborne Science Flight Services Support

NASA has awarded Dynamic Aviation Group Inc. of Bridgewater, Virginia, the Commercial Aviation Services contract to support the agency’s Airborne Science Program.

Posted February 3, 2025

Earth Science

Airborne Science

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Earth

Earth Science Division

NASA Radar Imagery Reveals Details About Los Angeles-Area Landslides

Analysis of data from NASA radar aboard an airplane shows that the decades-old active landslide area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has expanded.

Posted January 31, 2025

Ames Research Center

Airborne Science

Earth Science Division

Flight Opportunities Program

NASA and Forest Service Use Balloon to Help Firefighters Communicate

NASA is participating in a collaborative effort to use high-altitude balloons to improve real-time communications among firefighters battling wildland fires. The rugged and often remote locations where wildland fires burn mean cell phone service is often limited, making communication between firefighters and command posts difficult.

Posted November 14, 2024