Daily Reports August 20, 2000 August 17, 2000 August 13, 2000 August 12, 2000 SAFARI kickoff and video roll details
SAFARI Campaign Description / SAFARI web site

Pietersburg, South Africa ­ All the spacecraft and aircraft dedicated to the SAFARI 2000 field experiment were in operation today over South Africa and Botswana to observe a large grassland fire and major industrial pollution sources.

The NASA ER-2, two South African Weather Bureau planes, and the University of Washington Convair-580 all took to the skies this morning to combine research efforts with NASA's Terra and Landsat 7 spacecraft, which were in orbit over Southern Africa at about 10:30 a.m. local time.

The fire was located in the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa's Northwest Province near the Botswana border. As part of its fire management strategy for the reserve, park staff regularly burn sections of the park to keep the fuel load from reaching dangerous levels. Park staff and CSIR Environmentek staff burned 100 hectares today to coincide with the SAFARI 2000 experiment. The grassland fire was set along a 5 kilometer line at 10:08 a.m. local time, just before the Terra overpass at about 10:40 a.m. local time. Observers on the ground carefully monitored the fire.

One of the two South African Weather Bureau research aircraft flew from Pietersburg to the burn area and flew repeatedly above and through the smoke plume. The other SAWB plane flew over the chrome and platinum mines in Rustenburg (west of Pretoria, South Africa) and the copper mines in Selibe-Phikwe in eastern Botswana. The Botswana observations will be used to verify observations of Terra's MOPITT instrument.

The University of Washington CV-580 research aircraft encountered communications problems in the morning and returned to Pietersburg but resumed flights later in the day over the burned area.

The data collected today will be used to perfect the ability of Terra's MODIS instrument to see fires, the optical properties of smoke, "burn scars" on the ground from burning, and the optical thickness of aerosols in the air.

INITIAL FLIGHT PLANS FOR AUGUST 21-27, 2000
*** These plans are tentative and subject to change or cancellation due to weather and other factors. ***

Three flights of NASA's ER-2 are currently planned for the coming week to coincide with Terra and Landsat 7 overflights of different parts of the region.

Tuesday, August 22 ­ ER-2 flights along the eastern coast of South Africa including an overflight of the Skukuza tower in Kruger National Park. A small prescribed burn is planned for Satara in the park. The Terra overpass is at about 10:28 local time.

Thursday, August 24 ­ ER-2 flights over central Mozambique and a portion of the coastal region. Expect to observe numerous fires in Malawi. Terra overpass at about 10:16 a.m. local time.

Friday, August 25 ­ ER-2 flights along the Terra track through western Zambia and central Botswana. There are large fires burning in Zambia now. Terra overpass at about 10:56 local time.

Pietersburg, South Africa -- NASA's Terra spacecraft and ER-2 high-altitude aircraft made their first synchronized scientific observations over Southern Africa today as part of the six-week SAFARI 2000 to study the region's ecosystems, air quality and land use.

The target on this first "stacked" flight was the haze in the atmosphere, specifically the gas carbon monoxide, which is a major component of air pollution. During the current dry season in Southern African, thick haze is produced by the burning of vegetation and industrial pollution sources. This haze can last for weeks over the region.

"I am quite pleased with the first coordinated flight of the ER-2 and Terra today," said Michael D. King of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and SAFARI 2000 mission scientist for the ER-2. "We concentrated on comparing measurements of carbon monoxide and methane by Terra's MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) instrument and the ER-2's MOPITT-A instrument."

In addition, air samples along the spacecraft's track were collected by the South African Weather Bureau Aerocommander 690A aircraft. The South African plane, one of two participating in SAFARI 2000, made intricate spiral descents through the atmosphere to sample the haze.

Terra flew over the Indian Ocean along the eastern coast of Southern Africa today at 10:22 a.m. local time. Instruments onboard the ER-2 made measurements of the atmosphere at 60,000 feet along the spacecraft's track within minutes of the overpass. The aircraft then returned inland to sample the hazy air over South Africa.

"It was a perfect takeoff," said Gary Shelton, Director of Airborne Science at Dryden Flight Research Center, after NASA's ER-2 aircraft made its first takeoff from Pietersburg International Airport.

This shakedown flight is to test that all controls, instruments, and communications are working properly and to be prepared for the first science flight currently scheduled for Tuesday, Shelton said.

"SAFARI 2000 is a classic 'swords-to-ploughshares' program," said Professor Harold Annegarn, head of the Atmosphere and Energy Research Group at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and one of the lead organizers of the project. The earlier version of the ER-2, the U2, was used during the Cold War, but now the ER-2 is a key instrument in a global environmental program. Pietersburg International Airport, built as a military base during South Africa's apartheid war against 'freedom fighters,' is now the scientific base for SAFARI 2000, studying the region's ecosystems, air quality, and land use.

Open Day at Pietersburg Gateway International Airport. The airport was open to the public from 9am-5pm to view the assembled NASA, US, and South African planes involved in SAFARI. One hangar was filled with exhibits, including NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Airport officials estimated that over 6,000 people visited the airport for the Open Day.

The following spoke at Official Ceremonies between 10:30-11:30 am during the Open Day:

• Dr. Bob Scholes, CSIR Environmentek (one of the lead South African organizers)
• Dr. Michael King, Senior Earth Observing System Project Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; lead NASA scientist on SAFARI 2000
• Honorable Dr. Ben Ngubane, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology, Republic of South Africa
• Honorable Advocate Ngoaka Ramathlodi, premier of the Northern Province
  (MODIS images were presented to Ngubane and Ramathlodi.)
• Dr. Bob Swap, University of Virginia (SAFARI principal investigator)