About UND

The DC-8 is NASA’s premier research aircraft. The highly modified jet can carry 30,000 pounds of scientific instruments and equipment, plus the scientists to operate them, and fly at altitudes from 1,000 to 42,000 feet for up to 12 hours. Data gathered by the DC-8 have been used for numerous scientific studies ranging from archaeology to atmospheric chemistry. Under a cooperative agreement with NASA worth more than $30 million over a five-year period, UND will operate the DC-8, carrying international teams of scientists on global missions to conduct experiments and study changes in the Earth’s surface and atmosphere.