The 2025 Aviation Weather Mission brings together Civil Air Patrol cadets (ages 11–20) and senior members across the country to contribute meaningful aviation weather data as part of a national collaboration with NASA Earth Science. Participants record real-time airport conditions, GLOBE Cloud observations, and aircraft details, supporting satellite collocations provided by the NASA GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center. These observations help validate satellite data and provide insights into weather and climate patterns relevant to aviation safety.
Author: C/A1C Rylan Thiemens, CAP Virginia Wing, Tidewater Composite Squadron
“On May 10, 2025, I participated in the NASA Aviation Weather mission that partnered with CAP to find contrails, photograph them and document specific information for NASA. Cadets rotated through and performed different jobs: observers, flight trackers, photographers, and orienteers. I loved the aspects of every role, but I favored the job of flight tracking. Using ADS-B Exchange, I located the position of planes, and my team’s photographers took photos. I enjoyed the challenge of meeting NASA’s requirements of locating a plane at a minimum altitude of 20,000 ft and recording the data on its track and what type of contrails it produced. Additionally, we were very fortunate to have a NASA scientist with us who was extremely helpful, not only helping us with the task, but also explaining the importance and meaning of collecting contrail data. Assisting NASA was an awesome experience, I cannot wait to do it again.”
Author: C/SMSgt Jacob Buford, CAP Oklahoma Wing, Riverside Composite Squadron
“This was one of my top favorite experiences I’ve had with Civil Air Patrol. I love both weather and aviation. This mission was interesting and fun! Not only did we get to partner with NASA on something really cool and valuable, I learned important skills for my future. Perfect day, great team, and both a fun and educational experience! On the day my team did our mission, we had very few clouds in the sky. Visibility was perfect. We set up a base at Tulsa Air and Space Museum, which sits on the NW corner of Tulsa International Airport. First, we learned and practiced using all the tools- Flight Radar 24, sextant, compass, camera, uploading pics and data to GLOBE. Working together took fast paced communication and problem solving, but we were running smoothly by our 3rd plane, and from then on, it was really fun! We set up stations with our partner and learned to communicate the necessary information for the others to get their job done, and supported each other’s roles. I was a Flight Tracker. It was exciting to figure out altitude, type of plane, and origin/destination. Also to work with the orienteer to figure out azimuth, and photographer and spotter to note any contrails, and to make sure we were all tracking the same plane. We had to make sure our data manager had all the necessary information for data entry. It was a great team building experience! I especially enjoyed seeing all the air traffic on Flight Radar 24, just by aiming my Ipad in any direction. I have a whole new understanding, perspective, and appreciation on contrails and air traffic. I have used Flight Radar 24 many times, since introduction to it through this mission. Grateful for the opportunity!”
C/A1C Rylan Thiemens of the Tidewater Composite Squadron Virginia Wing (MAR-VA-035) taking photos and other cadets gathering and recording data.
