FarmFlux Announcements WHAT IS FARMFLUX? FarmFlux is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital mission to study agriculture-atmosphere interactions. FarmFlux will deploy two aircraft in 2026 and 2027 to measure gas and particle properties in the U.S. Midwest and California. Observations will be used to quantify emissions, deposition, and chemical transformation of key gases and particulates over croplands and downwind of animal feeding operations. WHAT IS AN “AGRICULTURE-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION?” Nitrogen (N) is essential to plant growth and animal production. Fertilizers feed crops, crops feed animals, animals excrete excess nutrients, and manure can be used as fertilizer. N losses occur throughout this cycle, including via emissions of N-containing gases like ammonia (NH3), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Manure and enteric fermentation (cow burps) also produce methane (CH4). Once in the atmosphere, these gases impact regional air quality and haze, stratospheric ozone, and atmospheric heat trapping. The agricultural economy is also sensitive to atmospheric composition via its influence on long-term weather patterns and deposition of acids and crop-damaging pollutants like near-surface ozone. TLDR: chemicals move between the surface and the atmosphere. FarmFlux will help us understand what controls this exchange and how it affects the rest of the Earth System. WHAT WILL FARMFLUX MEASURE? FarmFlux will deploy two aircraft equipped with in situ instruments. “In situ” means we measure the composition of the air as we fly through it. Further details on the payloads and aircraft are provided in the “illustrated summary” linked below. The NASA P-3 will survey major U.S. crop systems. Airborne eddy covariance will directly quantify emissions and deposition of trace gases. Observations of the chemical, physical, and optical properties of particulate matter (PM) will elucidate the sources and impacts of PM. A Dynamic Aviation A200 will quantify emissions from animal feeding operations via mass balance. Flights will focus on beef cattle, dairies, hogs, and chickens. WHERE AND WHEN WILL FARMFLUX FLIGHTS OCCUR? Agricultural activities are most intense in the U.S. Midwest and the California Central Valley. The large aircraft will operate in both regions during several deployments spanning a single growing season (March – July). The small aircraft will travel to emission hotspots in CA, ID, TX, CO, and IA in multiple seasons. Flights will occur in 2026 and 2027. FarmFlux will provide new data relevant to core U.S. agricultural regions, where atmospheric measurements are particularly sparse. Background shows oversampled ammonia columns from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP). Black/blue stars and circles show deployment locations and rough ranges for P-3 and A200, respectively. Triangles and circles denote Ammonia Monitoring Network (AMoN) and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites. HOW WILL FARMFLUX DATA BE USED? FarmFlux observations will address some very basic questions about agriculture and the atmosphere, including: 1. What is the magnitude of gaseous emissions of nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen-containing gases? 2. What environmental and management factors control these emissions? 3. What happens to these gases after they are emitted (chemical transformation, deposition transport)? In answering these questions, we will evaluate emission inventories and model parameterizations. This will improve the science community’s ability to simulate current and future air quality and weather. WHY NASA? NASA Earth System Science Research explores the fundamental processes driving regional and global change. Agriculture lies at the nexus of multiple systems: atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and human activity. FarmFlux will strengthen our understanding of the connections between these systems and, in particular, reduce uncertainties in processes relevant to atmospheric composition. NASA Earth Action provides trusted information to support applications and decisions. NASA data is widely used for both air quality and agricultural management. FarmFlux will bridge these disciplines, allowing NASA to more comprehensively support the needs of agricultural and environmental decision makers. Agriculture and air quality are intimately linked. FarmFlux will also enhance the science achievable from current and upcoming satellite missions, such as TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) and CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder). Observations from FarmFlux will validate satellite retrievals and provide ground truth for inferred emissions. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE? FarmFlux Illustrated Summary FarmFlux ESPO page NASA Airborne Science Flight Tracker – watch real-time flight tracks FarmFlux Data Archive – Preliminary data is password-protected. Final data anticipated November 2027! Contact the FarmFlux Leadership Team
