PHILEAS: Home sweet home
The PHILEAS campaign is slowly coming to an end. After HALO returned safely from Anchorage last Saturday, we made one last scientific flight north to Spitsbergen to determine the stratospheric background conditions at the end of the measurement campaign. These data can be used directly to compare with the conditions at the beginning of the campaign. So HALO was received by the scientists for the last time. In idyllic evening light, the research aircraft showed its best side.
The next day, the last part of the measurement campaign began – the disassembly. This involves dismantling instruments, racks, inlets and GLORIA’s external attachments. Even though everyone would like to have their instruments removed as quickly as possible, everything has to be done according to an orderly plan so that there is no chaos in the aircraft. From the pictures shown, you can see that work has been done on every corner of the aircraft. The instruments are now carefully packed and transported to the individual institutes. There, some of them will be recalibrated and maintained for the next mission. The actual scientific work then begins. After the own data have been sifted and finally evaluated, the scientific interpretation starts. For this purpose, one is dependent on the data of the individual groups and works out answers to the previously posed scientific questions together in order to then publish them in publications. But that is literally on another page…
With this blog post I say goodbye for now and will be happy to report again during the next measurement campaign with HALO.
