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

Dec. 6, 2012

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

Beth Hagenauer
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
661-276-7960
beth.hagenauer@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-235

THREE NASA AIRBORNE EARTH SCIENCE MISSIONS FOCUS OF JAN. 25 MEDIA DAY

WASHINGTON -- 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.

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 DrydenPAO@nasa.gov 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


-end-



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