NASA to Conduct Low-Altitude Flights Over Texas Farmland - NASA
Flights Near Transit, Texas
A NASA Dynamic Aviation A200 will make low-altitude research trips over farmland near Transit, Texas. The flights are scheduled to run from Thursday, Oct. 22, through Monday, Nov. 9.
FarmFlux Tracks Pollution
The FarmFlux mission will use more than a dozen sensors to monitor ozone, methane, ammonia, particulates and other pollutants. The instruments will sample emissions from croplands and livestock farms, as well as how those emissions interact with the atmosphere.
Agricultural emissions are an important, but understudied, part of Earth’s land and atmospheric systems. The mission is jointly led by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Colorado State University and Boston University.
More Flights Planned in 2027
Further low-altitude research flights are planned with a NASA P-3 Orion aircraft during the March-to-July 2027 growing season. Their planned locations include the Midwest and California’s Central Valley.
Those later flights will focus on cropland. The announcement describes them as an additional phase of research beyond the Texas flights.
Key points
- A NASA A200 is scheduled to fly over farmland near Transit, Texas, from Oct. 22 through Nov. 9.
- The flights will measure gases and particles from animal feeding operations.
- FarmFlux will use more than a dozen sensors to study agricultural pollutants and atmospheric interactions.
- A NASA P-3 Orion is scheduled for cropland flights in the Midwest and California’s Central Valley in 2027.