NASA’s ER-2 high-altitude aircraft has completed over 30 flights as part of a study on the formation and development of snowstorms on the United States Atlantic coast.
The space agency announced Saturday that the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Storms mission concluded on Feb. 28, after three years of ER-2 flights in Savannah and Marietta, Georgia and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The IMPACTS science team is composed of researchers from NASA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service and selected U.S. universities.
In support of the study, ER-2 aircraft flew at 65,000 feet to hover over the storms. They enabled scientists to gather data for developing meteorological prediction models for severe winter and other weather types.
NASA also used its P-3 research plane, equipping its wings with probes to measure storm precipitation particles at altitudes lower than the ER-2 flights.
