The HIAPER research aircraft in flight Click on image for full size (88 Kb) Courtesy of NCAR/National Science Foundation

HIAPER, one of the nation's most advanced research aircraft, is scheduled to embark on an historic mission spanning the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

Starting Jan. 7, 2009, the HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) mission will cover more than 24,000 miles as an international team of scientists makes a series of five flights over the next three years sampling the atmosphere in some of the most inaccessible regions of the world.

The goal of the mission is ambitious--the first-ever, global, real-time sampling of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases across a wide range of altitudes in the atmosphere, literally from pole-to-pole.

To date, much of our understanding of global atmospheric greenhouse gases has been acquired from ground-based observations, distant satellites, balloon launches, or highly sophisticated supercomputer models. HIAPER's pole-to-pole mission will, for the first time, give scientists real-time global observation data to correlate with those climate models.

HIAPER is short for the National Science Foundation's High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research. A modified Gulfstream V jet, it can fly at high altitudes for extended periods of time and can carry 5,600 pounds of sensing equipment, making it a premier aircraft for scientific discovery.

HIPPO is a joint project funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and involving researchers from Harvard University, NSF's National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Text above is courtesy of the National Science Foundation

The HIAPER research aircraft in flight Click on image for full size (88 Kb) Courtesy of NCAR/National Science Foundation

An airplane designed for science research is flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Along the way it is measuring the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which traps solar energy in the atmosphere. Most of what we know about the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is either from measurements made from the ground or measurements made from satellites way above the Earth. Some measurements are made from weather balloons too. But taking so many measurements from an airplane has not been done before. This flight will, for the first time, give scientists real-time global observation data that they can compare with the climate models run on supercomputers.

The plane that will make the trip and collect the data is called HIAPER. It’s a Gulfstream V jet that has been customized for scientific research. Instead of all the seats that fill planes made for transporting people, HIAPER is filled with 5,600 pounds of scientific equipment.

The project, which is called the HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations mission (or HIPPO for short) will cover more than 24,000 miles, sampling the atmosphere in some of the most remote regions of the world.

The special research aircraft in flight Click on image for full size (88 Kb) Courtesy of NCAR/National Science Foundation

A special airplane is heading into the atmosphere for a special flight. It will be flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic – more than 24,000 miles! Along the way, it will measure the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Scientists have other ways to study the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere too. They take samples of the air at the bottom of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and looked at the greenhouse gases in it. They have used satellites to study the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from above. But taking so many measurements from an airplane has not been done before. It will give scientists new data that they can compare with climate models.

The plane is designed for science research. It’s a small jet much like the ones that make short flights between cities. But instead of all the seats that you usually find in planes made for carrying people, this plane is filled with tons of scientific equipment.