2025FallCloudsUpdate

NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update

September/October/November 2025

Welcome to our NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update! It was great to participate in the GLOBE annual meeting. There was so much to share and to learn. We reconnected with GLOBE community members and we also met new friends. A special highlight for the NASA GLOBE Clouds team was the recognition of Jessica Taylor, the Principal Investigator for GLOBE Clouds. Jessica received a GLOBE award for Technological Advancement. This award recognized those who have expanded the use and knowledge of technology to support the GLOBE community.

This update shares exciting news about a great partnership with Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Discover what CAP cadets and senior members have worked on as part of the Aviation Weather Mission. Learn about hurricanes in our science section, see how science data helps people, and find out how you can become a NASA Response Mapper. Also, check out GLOBE Peru’s Spanish translation of NUBE card game materials! Please keep reading, vote for your favorite cloud picture, ask us anything, and keep making GLOBE Clouds observations.

 

Civil Air Patrol (CAP): Aviation Weather Mission

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the NASA GLOBE Clouds team, and the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) worked together on an exciting project called the 2025 Aviation Weather Mission. They had already worked together successfully during the solar eclipses in 2023 and 2024. This new national project involved over 3,000 young people (ages 12–20) and adults from all over the United States.

CAP is a volunteer organization and the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. They are dedicated to emergency services, cadet development, and aerospace education. With missions ranging from search and rescue to youth leadership programs, CAP serves communities across the country. They also provide unique opportunities for both adults and cadets to learn, lead, and serve.

 

During the 2025 Aviation Weather Mission, CAP cadets and senior members were on a mission to gather crucial aviation data. They collected information about airport conditions, cloud observations, aircraft tracking info (such as airplane registration numbers and altitude), and awesome photos of contrails. They took on roles like weather monitoring, flight tracking, orienteering, photography, and data management. Everyone went through special training before diving into action on four scheduled observation dates.

The observations from CAP's ground stations are being compared with images from NASA GEO and NOAA-20 satellites! Why? To investigate how humidity affects contrails, aircraft icing, and overall weather. This research is going to help make flying even safer! In addition to contributing directly to NASA’s research, this mission provided students with hands-on STEM experience and promoted aerospace education. And to top it all off, the cadets even designed a special mission patch to celebrate their incredible dedication to real-world science!