NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory lifts off the runway at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., on its first flight in the ARCTAS atmospheric science mission.
Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from AircrARCTASThree NASA research aircraftground stationsweather balloonsDC-8 flying laboratory21 experiments35 scientistsInternational Polar YearFairbanksAlaskaThuleGreenlandthick aerosol layersarctic hazeCold LakeAlbertaCanadaboreal forest firesnorthwest Canada