This 6-minute, 8-second video shows how a NASA-led science team spent six weeks in January and February studying Hawaii's volcanoes and coral reefs using the Agency's ER-2 aircraft. The mission, called Hyperspectral InfraRed Imager (HyspIRI), focused on observing coral reef health and volcano emissions and eruptions. Flying at 65,000 feet (19,800 meters), above 95 percent of Earth’s atmosphere, the ER-2 can closely replicate the data a future satellite could collect. Data from this mission will help in developing a NASA satellite to study natural hazards and ecosystems.
NASA's ER-2 aircraft are operated by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and based at Hangar 703 in Palmdale, CA.
