Third time was the charm, and OIB completed a very successful “Sea Ice South Basin Transect” mission today!
Not only did NASA 426 fly great (no leaks), but we had complete optical coverage over the entire science line (with just enough daylight at the beginning of the line for DMS camera coverage and improving thru the mission), and only a few thin patches of haze and fog that the lasers and camera could easily handle. We finished with a calibration ramp pass over the North Star Bay snow survey site and the Thule ramp at 1500′ AGL.
A very good science day, and we’re back in Thule. We’ll take a rest day tomorrow to recover from this early morning, multi-timezone crossing mission and resume OIB ops on Wednesday.
Google Earth plot of today’s flight
Early morning sea ice
Sun rise and a sea ice lead
Some of the hazy foggy areas
Mid mission sea ice
Panoramic image from left aft bubble window.