Media Invited to Preview Around-the-World Atmospheric Mission

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Jun 14, 2016, 01:28 ET

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media are invited to preview one of NASA's most ambitious airborne studies of Earth's atmosphere on Thursday, July 7, at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California.

The Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission will study greenhouse gases and other particles and gases in the atmosphere with the agency's DC-8 flying laboratory. The 26-day journey will cover the North Pole to New Zealand, over to the tip of South America, and north to the Arctic. The mission complements NASA's satellite observations of the major gases of Earth's atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and ozone. ATom will zoom in to make detailed measurements of atmospheric chemistry that are difficult or impossible to make from space.

Media will have opportunities for interviews with lead scientists and mission managers and tour NASA's DC-8 aircraft, which will be in the process of being outfitted with scientific instruments. The first ATom flight is scheduled for the end of July.

Registration is open for U.S. and foreign media. All interested U.S. citizens and green card holders must request credentials by 2 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, June 29. The deadline for foreign nationals is 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21. To request credentials, email Armstrong public affairs officer Kate Squires at [email protected]. Include full name as it appears on a valid government-issued photo identification, media affiliation, email address and telephone number.

ATom will measure more than 200 gases and airborne particles in the atmosphere over the oceans. The science team's goal is understanding how gases such as methane and ozone and poorly understood airborne particles such as black carbon enter, transform and ultimately are removed from the atmosphere. These processes are key to better understanding Earth's climate today and in the future.

NASA advances our understanding of our home planet by collecting data from space, air, land and sea. The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. This year, NASA has embarked on eight ambitious new field campaigns that are taking scientists around the world to deepen this knowledge.

For more information about ATom, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/content/2016-earth-expeditions-atom/

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SOURCE NASA