This hurricane season, NASA plans to fly two unmanned drones directly into hurricanes to study storm intensity. Forecasting hurricane intensity is a big challenge for meteorologist, and this 5 year...$30 million dollar experiment will help give forecasters more insight. As a result, it should also lead to more accurate info that's passed on to the general public.
This special research experiment is called "Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Airborne Mission," and it is a joint effort between NASA & various research partners.
The unmanned drones are equipped with several instruments that measure wind speed and precipitation within a storm. They also have equipment for measuring weather conditions like if the air is dry or dusty...and how that impacts the development of the storm.
Check out the link for a little more info about this fascinating project.
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/nasa-to-fly-unmanned-drones-into-hurricanes/27089
Meteorologist Deitra Tate
