NASA Johnson pilots flew the WB-57F research aircraft from Houston to Iceland to study the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026. Flying at an altitude of approximately 50,000 feet, the team collected data on the Sun’s corona while reducing the effects of clouds and the atmosphere.
The Moon’s briefly blocking the Sun completely made it possible to observe the corona. During the flight, John Gustine positioned the aircraft along the eclipse path, while Cary Klemm operated the camera systems. The study was intended to contribute to a better understanding of the movement of energy and matter in the corona and of space weather.
Why it matters
Observation from high altitude can improve the quality of data on the corona by reducing the effects of clouds and the atmosphere on measurements. This allows researchers to examine the movement of energy and matter in the corona under more favorable conditions than those available for observations from the ground. The data obtained may be used in efforts to understand the connection between how this outer layer of the Sun functions and space weather. However, the scope of the findings the mission will produce will become clear only after a detailed scientific examination of the data collected.
Background
NASA is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: in the last 90 days, we have published 9 news stories mentioning this name; the latest is dated 26 August 2026. The development here will be added alongside those records in our archive; readers can follow previous articles bearing the same name through the archive to see the timeline as a whole.