Three NASA Airborne Earth Science Missions Focus Of Jan. 25 Media Day

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA is inviting media to look behind-the-scenes at several active Earth science missions that will take to the air next month to study climate change and air pollution. These airborne missions are all based at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California.

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On Jan. 25, journalists will have the opportunity to meet with mission scientists to find out how they are using airborne instruments in conjunction with satellite observations to advance our understanding of complex Earth systems. Tours of mission operations and NASA research aircraft will be provided at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., and at Dryden's main campus on Edwards Air Force Base.

The three major Earth Science missions highlighted during the day-long media opportunity will be probing air pollution across central California and key climate change unknowns high over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Two of NASA's high-altitude aircraft, the unmanned Global Hawk and the ER-2, are among the planes that will fly during these missions.

The multi-year DISCOVER-AQ campaign will fly NASA's P3B and B200 King Air planes over California's San Joaquin Valley to measure air pollution this winter. The mission seeks to improve the monitoring of pollution from satellites so that scientists can produce better air-quality forecasts and more accurately identify pollution sources.

The Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment campaign focuses on the region of the upper atmosphere where pollutants and other gases enter the stratosphere and potentially influence our climate. A key focus of the mission is water vapor, which can significantly impact Earth's energy budget, ozone layer and climate.

The Polarimeter Definition Experiment campaign will fly several of a new breed of instruments that scientists plan to fly in space one day to improve our measurements of aerosols and clouds. Aerosols, tiny particles produced across the world from many different sources, influence Earth's climate and can affect human health.

Scientists and aircraft from two other NASA Earth science missions preparing for flights later this year also will be available for interviews and tours. The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, flying aboard a NASA C-20A piloted aircraft, is used to study earthquakes, volcanoes, oil spills, landslides and glacier movements. The Air Surface Water Ocean Topography campaign is testing instruments for a future spacecraft mission that will make the first-ever global survey of Earth's surface water.

Media requests for event credentials should be submitted via email to NASA Dryden's public affairs office at [email protected] or by phone to 661-276-3449 no later than Dec. 17 for foreign nationals and Jan. 11 for U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens. Media representatives wishing to participate must be on assignment with a verifiable media organization. No substitutions of non-credentialed personnel will be allowed.

U.S. citizens must provide full name, date and place of birth, media organization, the last six digits of their social security number and their driver's license number and state of issue. In addition, foreign nationals must list their country of citizenship and visa or passport number with the country of issue and expiration date.

For more information about NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/dryden

For more information about NASA's Airborne Science Program, visit:
http://airbornescience.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's Earth Science Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/earth

SOURCE NASA