NURTURE is expected to occur in two phases:
- Phase 1 occurred between 23 January – 19 February 2026 with the NASA G-III aircraft
- Phase 2 will be January – February 2027 (exact dates TBD) with the NASA 777 aircraft
Platform:
- NASA G-III in 2026 and NASA 777 in 2027
Location: Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The approximate range of the NASA G-III aircraft (green ring) and NASA 777 aircraft (blue ring) are shown for a home base of Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The NASA 777 will be able to sample upstream features 3-5+ days in advance of an event, and will also be within range to sample the resulting downstream high-impact weather events. The colors show the January-February climatological mean wind at 300 hPa from 1991 to 2020.
Aircraft Instrumentation:
NASA 777 during Phase 2 in the Winter 2027
Instrument | Observables |
High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) | Profiles of H2O, aerosol, cloud; surface winds, PBLH |
High Spectral Resolution Lidar 2 (HSRL-2) | Profiles of ozone, aerosol, cloud, ocean; surface winds, PBLH |
Airborne Third Generation Precipitation Radar (APR-3) | Profiles of radar reflectivity, vertical velocity, in cloud H20 |
Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) | Profiles of wind direction and speed |
Vapor In-cloud Profiling Radar (VIPR) | High-vertical-resolution water vapor soundings within the PBL |
Microwave Barometric Radar and Sounder (MBARS) | Profiles of radar reflectivity; surface pressure |
Sub-mm Wavelength Radiometer (CoSSIR) | Profiles of ice cloud, H20; snowfall |
Conical Scanning Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (COSMIR) | Profiles of H20, T |
Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) | Profiles of H2O, T, composition |
Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS Dropsondes) | Profiles of H2O, T, P, wind speed, wind direction |
Diode Layer Hygrometer (DLH) | Open path measure of water vapor at aircraft |
Turbulent Air Motion Measurement System (TAMMS) | Aircraft level winds (20-100 Hz) |
Aircraft Data System (NSRC) | Aircraft navigational, meteorological |
NASA G-III during Phase 1 in the Winter 2026
Operations with the G-III required a reduced size instrument payload and had a shorter range than the Boeing 777. The payload for the G-III consisted of:
- H2O Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) implementing the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) technique (DIAL-HSRL)
- CloudCube Radar, and
- AVAPS Dropsondes.
DIAL-HSRL combined with CloudCube Radar provided detailed, high-resolution vertical profiles of ozone, moisture, and cloud properties. CloudCube consists of pulsed-compression radar combining the Ka-, W-, and G-bands and was used to determine intricate details about clouds and precipitation that had never been observed before near TPVs. AVAPS dropsondes further supported data to support NURTURE’s science questions, but dropsondes also added information about detailed wind properties near the jet stream.
