A challenge for Earth-observing satellites measuring air quality is to distinguish between pollution high in the atmosphere and that near the surface where people live and breathe. In summer 2011, NASA began a multi-year airborne field campaign to tackle this challenge.

The project is called DISCOVER-AQ, which stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality.” NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., is the lead center for the mission.