Unmanned Planes Help NASA Map Volcanic Plumes

Unmanned aircraft typically used for warfare and remote surveillance are helping scientists better understand the effects of poisonous volcanic gases.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently acquired three retired Dragon Eye planes, or, drones, and sent them to Costa Rica to monitor the Turrialba Volcano, according to a report posted at Space.com.

Ongoing sulfur dioxide gas emissions from the volcano create sulfur dioxide smog, or vog, which hurts crops as well as people who are sensitive to atmospheric pollutants.

Designed for the U.S. Marine Corps, the Dragon Eye remote-controlled plane weighs just under 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms), has a 3.75-foot (1.14 meters) wingspan and is propelled by two electric motors. The plane is light enough to be carried.

The goal of the drone project was to enhance satellite mapping of volcanic plumes as they travel through the air and also measure the concentration and distribution of volcanic gases within the plumes.

For the volcanic visits, the unmanned aerial vehicles carried a 1-pound (0.5 kg) sensor payload above the volcano's summit, with flights ranging as high as 12,500 feet (3,810 m) above sea level, a NASA statement said. Researchers launched 10 flights between March 11 and 14.

"It is very difficult to gather data from within volcanic eruption columns and plumes because updraft wind speeds are very high and high ash concentrations can quickly destroy aircraft engines," said David Pieri, the project's principal investigator and a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Such flight environments can be very dangerous to manned aircraft."

The Dragon Eye flights were coordinated with NASA's Terra satellite, as it passes over the volcanic study area. Data from the satellite can be compared with information collected by the unmanned planes.

Researchers said the combined information from the drones and the satellite lead to greatly-improved models of the volcanic eruption plumes.

NASA scientists say they plan to return to Turrialba next year with a larger plane, the SIERRA unmanned aircraft (a 100-pound payload, or 45 kg), to measure additional gases in volcanic fumes.