: Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft. Click on image to enlarge. Credit: Credit: Jon Becker, Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft

The Aerosonde is an inexpensive, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is an ideal platform for conducting weather observations and scientific research in hurricanes or in Antarctica. With endurance of over 30 hours, a single Aerosonde can obtain observations in regions that are inaccessible without expensive ships or manned aircraft. Because of the low cost of theAerosonde, it can fly in regions that are deemed too dangerous for manned aircraft (such as at low levels under high-wind conditions).As part of the CAMEX-4 hurricane study in 2001, NASA funded the flight of several unpiloted aerial vehicles called the Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft. Small, robotic aircraft designed for collection of meteorological data over oceans and remote areas, the Aerosondes will operate over the North Atlantic Ocean taking observations in the lower atmosphere. The Aerosondes are managed in conjunction with the University of Colorado at Boulder.