Chicago-area residents may spot a large aircraft flying at low altitude Monday and Tuesday, but what is it? Turns out, it’s a NASA laboratory.
NASA announced that its Armstrong Flight Research Center’s DC-8 aircraft will fly over the Chicago area “as part of a scientific research mission called AEROMMA.”
“The project measures Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas,” NASA said in a release.
The aircraft was expected to arrive in the region between the mid-morning and mid-afternoon hours Monday or possibly Tuesday, flying over both the city of Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
NASA warned that residents “will see and hear the aircraft as it collects data on air quality and pollution sources.”
Known as the “largest flying science laboratory in the world,” the DC-8 aircraft is being used as a partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study air quality and pollution.
“As a large four-engine passenger jet outfitted with scientific equipment, the DC-8 aircraft will be hard to miss as it conducts these flights, flying at a safe altitude over some of our most densely populated areas in North America,” a release on the project states.
NASA officials emphasized that “all flyovers are conducted at a safe altitude without harm to public, wildlife, or infrastructure,” but the aircraft’s jets are “very loud and those with sensitivity to loud noises should be aware of the flyover window.”
For those looking to track where it is in the area, you can follow along on FlightAware, using the tail number N817NA.
As of Monday afternoon, the flight tracker reported the aircraft was still in Ohio, however. It’s exact arrival time in the Chicago area was not immediately clear.
