ER-2: High Flying Science

Aeronautics

Physics

• Understand why an aircraft with high-altitude capability is useful for upper atmospheric experiments.
• Identify the number of ER-2s that NASA has in service.
• Understand why a longer wingspan allows the ER-2 to fly both longer and higher.

The materials and building instructions for a paper glider can be found at the following NASA LTP Web site: http://trc.dfrc.nasa.gov/shape/aovt/paprmodl.htm *Browser will open a new window.

Have students (in groups of two or three) assemble the gliders. Give the students a chance to test their gliders against other groups' gliders. Explain that each group's goal is to have its glider fly the farthest.

Once the students have tested their gliders, have them make a single adjustment to them. Have the groups write down the reason for the adjustment and the expected outcome. Then allow them to test the glider's performance against the other groups' gliders. Ask the groups if the desired outcome from the glider adjustment was met.

Something else to try would be to have some of the groups make two changes to their gliders. Have them record the changes and the expected outcomes. Groups making one change between tries should have better success than groups making multiple changes.

Q: Why is the ER-2 useful as a sensor platform?
A: The ability of the ER-2 to fly in the upper reaches of the atmosphere makes it an ideal vehicle for high-altitude investigations. It can fly much higher than sensor platforms available to the private sector, and, due to modifications, can fly much faster and for longer periods of time than earlier models.

Q: Why is the ER-2 considered versatile and well-suited to multiple mission tasks?
A: The ER-2 is designed to carry a variety of payloads during a single mission. This allows researchers to conduct multiple experiments in a single flight. The aircraft was also designed with modular payload compartments, which allow for rapid removal and installation of different payloads for different mission requirements.

The ER-2 is capable of flying at an altitude of 70,000 feet.

The ER-2 can scan shorelines, measure water levels, help fight forest fires, profile the atmosphere, assess flood damage, and sample the stratosphere.

An ER-2 is currently flying missions over the North Pole for project POLARIS.

The purpose of the POLARIS mission is to gain an understanding of the chemistry of ozone over the North Pole during the Arctic summer.

reconnaissance aircraft: an aircraft that provides information about an area by using sensors to collect data; military spy aircraft.

POLARIS: Photochemistry of Ozone Loss in the Arctic Region In Summer; a research program studying the fundamental chemistry of ozone reduction over the North Pole during the Arctic summer.

ozone: a three-oxygen molecule that helps to shield the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.