The Path of the 1994 Aries Aircraft

The name Aries is not an unfamiliar word in aeronautical research, originally referred to as the Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System, with the original 1994 NASA Aries used as a flying laboratory in the form of a Boeing 757-200. The Aries aircraft is presently being modified for a broad flight range of programs for a 20-year duration. This plan will benefit the United States aviation industry and commercial airline customers, used to conduct research for the increasing of aircraft safety, in order to operate in an efficient and compatible manner with future air traffic control systems.

Considered to be a very important research tool, it is vital in the support of our country's Aviation Safety and Aviation Systems Capacity programs. According to NASA's article on Aires Aviation Research, the original Aries aircraft has already been used for previous research programs:

* Flight tests using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data to perform automated landings of the airplane
* The study of jet-engine controls to determine their effects on the atmosphere
* Testing of a system to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft during landing, taxing, and takeoff-by giving pilots a computerized map showing aircraft ground operations
Maintained and flown by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, the ARIES 757 has four research documentation video cameras. Three cameras are arranged anywhere within or on the airplane, and one is placed on the tail that provides what is called "a bird's eye view" of the wings and the front of the ARIES 757. Eight video recorders are in total support of the cameras, flight displays, along with other data collection with over 1,000 data parameters recorded throughout a research flight. If needed, additional parameters can be specified for recording while the tests are in progress.

Research in the next 20-years of the ARIES will focus on technology that is capable of improving safety in aviation and efficiency of the aircraft systems, which include several areas that NASA has stressed as highly important:

Evaluation of a system that would provide pilots with better strategic and tactical weather information while in flight.
Runaway friction research
Testing of an airborne system that allows closely spaced approaches to landings during reduced visibility to increase airport capacity.

Nancy Houser, author of "A Mars Odyssey," is a freelance writer and illustrator of 30 years. Living in Central Nebraska running a dog rescue, she fills her leisurely time with 13 grandchildren and watching the skies.