NASA launches agricultural emissions research flights over Colorado

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NASA is launching a research campaign over Colorado to measure agricultural emissions, marking the first phase of the FarmFlux mission, the agency said.

The mission will deploy more than a dozen sensors to measure ozone, methane, ammonia, particulates and other pollutants rising from agricultural lands and animal farms and their interaction with the Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.

The FarmFlux mission is jointly led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Colorado State University; and Boston University.

Additional low-altitude research flights are scheduled over farmland in Amarillo, Texas, from late October to early November. For the March to July 2027 growing season, research flights with a NASA P-3 Orion aircraft are scheduled in the Midwest and California's Central Valley, focusing on croplands.