The Polar Aura Validation Experiment (PAVE) is a NASA international science mission to acquire critical high quality measurements of the polar region in support of the recently launched Aura satellite. PAVE is the third of a series of Aura Validation missions designed to provide correlative measurements to help understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the troposphere and their exchange with the lower stratosphere. The measurements from the Aura satellite will help enable improved modeling of global scale air quality and climate change predictions. For more on Aura please visit: http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Utilizing the NASA DC-8 and high altitude balloons, PAVE will collect valuable science data from an excellent suite of atmospheric remote sensing and in situ instruments. Based from Pease Tradeport in N.H. and the ESRANGE balloon facility in Sweden, approximately 80 scientists, managers, and support personnel will be deployed to perform the science flights in the arctic region. PAVE is sponsored by the NASA Earth Science Atmospheric Composition Focus Area and the Earth Observing System Aura satellite program.
