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CRATER

In summer 2025, a NASA-led team of scientists and engineers gathered in Rincón de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica for a twofold purpose: to test the feasibility of using an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to gather data about volcanic emissions, and to use those data to better understand how rising levels of carbon dioxide will impact vegetation across the world. This project is called the Costa Rica Airborne research on foresT Ecosystem Response to volcanic emissions (CRATER): a partnership between NASA, the University of Costa Rica, Chapman University, and Black Swift Technologies.

CRATER team members Daniel Prendergast (blue shirt) and Joshua Fisher (orange vest) scout potential fieldwork locations for the campaign. CRATER...
Two men, one in a blue longsleeve and the other in an orange long sleeve, look tiny in the distance as they walk up a hill through tan grass. In the distance is a green forested mountain and cloudy blue skies.
(From left) William Wade, Daniel Prendergast, and Joshua Fisher evaluate a windy hilltop as a potential fieldwork site for the...
Three men stand on top of a hill of tan grass. In the background is a white pickup trust, a man walking along the ridge, a green forested hill, and a blue sky with wisps of white clouds.
The CRATER team walks through a grassy field in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, while scouting potential...
A line of people in outdoorsy clothing walks through tall tan grass away from the camera, from the right side of the frame. The sky above them is bright blue, dotted with white clouds.
In this composite image, CRATER science principal investigator Jay Tomlin launches the S2 Black Swift uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) into...
A man in an orange jacket and black pants stands in a field of tan and green grass, looking at a small gray fixed-wing aircraft with a yellow nose cone, sitting on a silver launcher. In this composite image, the aircraft is pictured again and again across the sky, moving away from the camera. In the background is a blueish mountain and cloudy skies.
CRATER team members (from left) Leonardo Capponi, Alfredo Alan, and Jorge Andres Diaz scout potential fieldwork locations for the campaign....
Three people, in (from left) a tan, white, and blue long sleeve, stand on top of a hill of tan grass, looking off to the right. In the distance is a green forested mountain and cloudy blue skies.
CRATER team members (from left) Joshua Fisher, Jack Elston, and Daniel Prendergastscout scout potential fieldwork locations for the campaign. CRATER...
Three people, in (from left) an orange, white, and blue long sleeve, look tiny in the distance as they walk up a hill through tan grass. In the distance is a green forested mountain and cloudy blue skies.
Members of the CRATER team hike up a hillside during a scouting trip to find field sites for the campaign....
Ten people look like little dots as they walk through a field of tan grass, with a green forested mountain and cloudy blue skies in the background.
Vapors rise from small cracks in the Earth's crust, called fumaroles, in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica....
Reddish brown rocks sit on a slope with tufts of green grass. A bit of haze rises from the rocks.
Bubbles of gas pop up through a pond in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, which is an active volcanic...
A small brown pool full of bubbles, surrounded by brown and tan rock.
Bubbles erupt through a mud pit in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, which is an active volcanic system. Volcanic...
Four bubbles burst through gray mud.
Jay Tomlin leads the CRATER team through a section of Rincon de la Vieja National Park, scouting locations to conduct...
A line of people in outdoorsy clothing walks on a narrow pathway towards the camera. The ground is covered in green grass, and trees arch over the pathway from the left side of the frame.
A staffer of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica gives a briefing to the CRATER (Costa...
A man with a black beard, wearing an olive green t-shirt and black pants stands in a dark room speaking to a group of people.
(From back to front) Joshua Fisher, Jorge Andres Diaz, and William Wade listen to a briefing from national park staff...
Three men in various hats and long sleeves stand in the right half of the photo, listening to someone out of the frame.
CRATER science PI Jay Tomlin stands in Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica, holding a nose cone...
A man in an olive green longsleeve and black bucket hat smiles at the camera while holding a cylindrical device. He stands in a field of grass with a blue mountain visible in the background.
NASA Ames Chief Aviation Operations Engineer Isaac Anderson leads a field briefing during the CRATER project, which stands for Costa...
A man with long dark hair speaks to a group of people gathered in a gold field of grass.
Engineers Isaac Anderson (left) and Daniel Prendergast (right) set up the launcher for the S2 Black Swift uncrewed aircraft system...
Two men work on something shaped like a silver tripod, with a small black pelican case, all in a green and tan field. In the distance is a green forested mountain and cloudy blue skies.
Alfredo Alan, drone pilot at Universidad de Costa Rica, improvises a windsock with a grocery bag and a pole during...
A man in a dark purple long sleeve shirt, gray hiking pants, and a white hat smiles at the camera while holding a long red pole with a yellow grocery bag tied to the end. In the background two white cars are parked on a grassy field.
(From left) Engineers Isaac Anderson, Daniel Prendergast, and Tyler Willhite check data from the S2 Black Swift uncrewed aircraft system...
Three people in hiking clothes stand together in a field of tan grass, looking down at tablets. Behind them is a dark cloudy sky.
The S2 Black Swift uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) sits in a field in Rincon de la Vieja National Park between...
A gray uncrewed fixed-wing aircraft with a yellow nose cone at orange-tipped wings sits on a tripod launcher in a field of green and tan grass.
The Black Swift S2 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) sits on its launcher in Rincon de la Vieja National Park as...
The camera shoots through two people looking at each other and just visible on the edges of the frame. In the center, a man crouches next to a gray uncrewed fixed-wing aircraft with a yellow nose cone.
The Black Swift S2 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) comes in for a landing at Rincon de la Vieja National Park,...
A gray uncrewed fixed-wing aircraft with a yellow nose cone flies towards the left of the frame against a cloudy sky, with the tops of trees in the lower third of the image.
Shadows from CRATER team members stretch long across the grass at Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, during...
The shadows of four people stretch away from the camera across gold grass. In the background is a large green tree, against blue clouds.
Shadows from CRATER team members stretch long across the grass at Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, during...
The shadows of four people stretch away from the camera across gold grass. In the background is a large green tree, against blue clouds.
CRATER pilot William Wade steers the S2 Black Swift uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) during campaign fieldwork in Rincon de la...
A man with gray and brown scruff, wearing a black long sleeve, a neon yellow high-vis vest, and a dark gray baseball hat with a NASA logo, holds a drone controller and looks off to the right of the frame.
Clouds gather around the crater of Rincon de la Vieja volcano during a field campaign of NASA's CRATER project. CRATER...
A dark blue mountain is partially silhouetted against a blue sky dotted in clouds. A few clouds sit right around the summit.
Jack Elston assembles the S2 Black Swift, a fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) in the field during NASA's CRATER (Costa...
A man in a white longsleeve and purple baseball cap works on a gray aircraft that says Black Swift Technologies on the wings, next to a silhouette of a black bird.
Jack Elston assembles the S2 Black Swift, a fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) in the field during NASA's CRATER (Costa...
A man in a white longsleeve and purple baseball cap works on a gray aircraft that says Black Swift Technologies on the wings, next to a silhouette of a black bird.
Jack Elston assembles the S2 Black Swift, a fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) in the field during NASA's CRATER (Costa...
A man in a white longsleeve and purple baseball cap adjusts the wings on a slate-gray device.
CRATER team members (from left) Joshua Fisher, Isaac Anderson and Ernesto Corrales hike through Rincon de la Vieja National Park,...
Three men in hiking attire pose in a forest next to a reddish-orange stream.
CRATER ecologists Joshua Fisher (left) and Ernesto Corrales (right) hike through Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, to...
A man in hiking attire with a yellow pole stands in the distance, under a canopy of green trees. Between the man and the camera is a bright reddish-orange shallow stream. To the right of the stream, a man in a khaki green jacket and tan hat walks along a path with his back to the camera.
CRATER ecologist Joshua Fisher stands in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, on a expedition to gather data...
A man in hiking attire with a yellow pole stands in the distance, under a canopy of green trees. Between the man and the camera is a bright reddish-orange shallow stream.
CRATER engineer Isaac Anderson stands in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Costa Rica, on a expedition to gather data...
A man in a white shirt with tan pants and a tan hat stands on a rock, looking to the right of the frame. In the background is a green forest.
CRATER team members (from left) Isaac Anderson, Joshua Fisher, and Ernesto Corrales hike through Rincon de la Vieja National Park,...
Three men in hiking attire walk in a line away from the camera across a forest clearing of tan rocks, logs, and bright green grass.
Ernesto Corrales, a member of the CRATER team, gathers data from a trace gas sensor in the forest of Rincon...
A man with long black hair and a black beard, wearing a khaki green jacket and large tan hat and standing in a bright green forest, works on a round white box on a black string.
Joshua Fisher, an ecologist with the CRATER project, leads a team through the forest of Rincon de la Vieja National...
A man in hiking clothes and black booths hikes up a leaf-covered path away from the camera, into a green forest.
Jay Tomlin, the CRATER science principal investigator, walks through the forest in Rincon de la Vieja National Park during the...
A man in an orange long sleeve, hiking pants, and a hat stands on a dirt path and looks up into a copse of trees.
A line of leaf-cutter ants march through the forest of Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica.
A close-up image of red ants holding bright green leaves twice the size of their bodies, walking in a line along mossy concrete.
A line of leaf-cutter ants march through the forest of Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica.
A close-up image of red ants holding bright green leaves twice the size of their bodies, walking in a line along mossy concrete.
Joshua Fisher, an ecologist on the CRATER team, looks up at a trace gas sensor mounted into a tree in...
A man in an olive green long sleeve, bright orange vest, and gray hat and neck scarf looks up into the trees above him. Around him are green leafy trees, while clouds of white haze drift in the background.
Joshua Fisher, an ecologist on the CRATER team, looks up at a trace gas sensor mounted into a tree in...
A man in an olive green long sleeve, bright orange vest, and gray hat and neck scarf points up into the trees above him. Around him are green leafy trees, while clouds of white haze drift in the background.