NASA is going on safari in Africa. But not to look for lions and elephants. It is a three-year project to study the environment of southern Africa. Scientists will be learning about smoke and gases released into the atmosphere by factories and the burning of African forests and savannas .
Scientists hope to get a clearer picture of how humans affect our environment.
The project is the biggest scientific collaboration ever tried in Africa. More than 180 scientists from Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, and Belgium will help out. The gathering on August 12th was about a new six-week long mission. Scientists will test the air with several airplanes flying at different heights at the same time. They will also look at the atmosphere with a NASA satellite named Terra.