SARP 2009 Data: NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Measurements

NASA's Student Airborne Research Program collected this data onboard a DC-8 aircraft during its 2009 deployment. The dataset likely contains in-situ measurements of atmospheric gases, surface imagery, and flight parameters supporting research in atmospheric chemistry, forest ecology, air quality, and ocean biology. It represents the inaugural year of an ongoing program for undergraduate student research.

Use Cases

• Calibrating satellite observations based on in-situ atmospheric gas measurements.
• Studying regional air quality patterns using airborne chemical sampling data.
• Analyzing forest ecology or ocean biology through multi-spectral surface imagery.
• Prototyping new environmental monitoring instruments using flight data logs.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete for the 2009 mission.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and curation.
• The program description provides clear context for the data's educational and scientific purpose.

Limitations

• Column names and dataset size are unknown across all sources, hindering precise assessment.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata (2009 vs. 2026) creates uncertainty about maintenance.
• Specific instrument types, spatial coverage, and data formats are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

NASA Airborne Science Program, Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)

Collection Method

Collected onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft flying science laboratory during the 2009 SARP mission.

Time Range

2009

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:45:45.045215