Carbon dioxide and methane are both famous for being the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Although their direct effect on climate change is well documented, their exact sources of emission and the flow of these gases still need research. A major atmospheric scientific study was recently conducted in Europe about these gases: CoMet (Carbon dioxide and methane mission).
Led by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt), this mission tried to accurately identify the sources and sinks from these gases. For this purpose, up to 5 scientific aircraft were mobilized to conduct simultaneous measurement using different instruments. PLANET system was on-board three of them to help the synchronization between the teams.
During the first flight near Toulouse, the HALO and SAFIRE Falcon were flying together (see screenshot). Some atmospheric balloons were also marked in PLANET (green "targets"). These joint flight will allow to validate MERLIN (Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission) Minisatellite instrumentation (https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/m/merlin ).
Aircraft used: HALO (G-550), 2 Cessna (C-208 - FDLR, C-207 - Frei Universität Berlin), SAFIRE Falcon (F-20), DLR Dornier (228-212)
More information on HALO's website: https://www.halo.dlr.de/science/missions/comet/comet.html
