Donate
Massive Eclipse Mission: 'Teamwork on a Continental Scale'
At least 4,000 Civil Air Patrol members turned out April 8 for what's likely the organization's largest single-day mission ever — assisting NASA by collecting more than a quarter-million data points from the total solar eclipse.
In all, some 400 CAP teams gathered at 630 data collection sites, focused on generating information for scientists to use in gauging the eclipse’s effects on weather and VHF radio operations.
The 2024 Solar Eclipse Mission stretched across seven time zones, 50 states, and two U.S. territories.
At the same time, the CAP Solar Eclipse Classroom Program involved educator members and more than 40,000 K-12 students in participating schools, libraries, museums, and homeschool programs. They collected and 
submitted eclipse data as part of NASA’s GLOBE Observer Program.
The data collected will be used to help improve weather/climate models and forecasting as well as provide engineers with information they need to design radio communication systems more resilient against the effects of solar storms.
Scientists will also use the data to further their understanding of the sun, the ionosphere, and Earth’s atmosphere.
The CAP participants used their skills, special instruments, and online apps to collect data on:
- Air temperature,
- Cloud cover and type,
- Wind speed and direction, and
- Precipitation.
They also tracked the impact on VHF radio operations by monitoring transmissions during the eclipse.
The eclipse mission enabled CAP “to demonstrate teamwork on a continental scale,” said Capt. Shannon Babb, mission director and Rocky Mountain Region deputy chief of staff for aerospace.
In addition, the mission has not only helped inspire thousands to learn more about aerospace but also laid the foundation for future CAP/NASA aerospace education missions, Babb said.
For NASA, “by engaging with partners like Civil Air Patrol, we are able to offer individual support and personal connection with more individuals. This allows students to successfully do real science in a supportive environment,” said Holli Kohl, GLOBE Observer coordinator, Earth Sciences Division, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
“Aside from getting scientific data from student volunteers, we hope their success doing real science helps them see themselves as a future scientist or engineer or foster a lifelong interest in science regardless of their career path,” Kohl said.
