CoMet 3.0 Tropics
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Mission for HALO 3.0 Tropics
Mission status: scheduled
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Persons in Charge
Mission-PI
Andreas Fix, German Aerospace Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (DLR-PA), Oberpfaffenhofen
Science Team
DLR Oberpfaffenhofen: Christian Fruck, Mathieu Quatrevalet, Anke Roiger, Julia Marshall, Patrick Jöckel, Markus Rapp |
Contact point at DLR-FX for this mission:
HALO Project Management: Andreas Minikin
Postal address:
DLR Oberpfaffenhofen
Flugexperimente (FX)
Projektmanagement
Münchener Str. 20
82234 Weßling
Germany
Office phone:
+49 (0)8153 28-2538
HALO Deployment Base
Time Period
Jun – Sep 2026
Mission phases
- 24 Jun 26 – 26 Jul 26 || Preparation, Payload integration, EMI testing
- 27 Jul 26 – 06 Sep 26 || Mission execution
- 07 Sep 26 – 13 Sep 26 || Dismounting of Payload
Project description
The CoMet 3.0 Tropics mission succeeds the missions CoMet and CoMet 2.0 Arctic. By means of CoMet 3.0 Tropics, we intend to extend the study to tropical wetlands and also support validation of upcoming GHG satellite missions.
CoMet 3.0 Tropics aims at reducing uncertainty in global wetland CH4 estimates, a complex task due to the dispersed nature of emissions and inter-annual variations. Current data coverage in the tropics is limited, with ground-based and satellite observations facing challenges. Airborne field campaigns show much promise to bridge these gaps.
The projected instrumentation includes the consolidated CoMet payload consisting of advanced remote sensing and in-situ instruments, with minor upgrades. University instruments foreseen are the MAMAP2D system by University of Bremen, which is an imaging spectrometer for GHGs, and the specMACS hyperspectral imager by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU). The data collected will be used within regional inverse models (University of Leipzig) and regionally nested global chemistry climate models.
Partners
- DLR-Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Germany
- Institut für Umweltphysik, Universität Bremen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute für Biogeochemie, Jena (MPI-BGC), Germany
- Institut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, Germany
- European Space Research and Technology Centre, Europan Space Agency, Nordwijk, Netherlands
- Meteorologisches Institut München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany
- Earth Oriented Space Science and Technology, Technische Universität Munich, Germany
International Partners
- Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPAN), Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Institute of Physics (IF), University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG), University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
- Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Research Program in the Amazon (LBA Program), Manaus, Brazil
- National Institute of Amazon Research (INPA), Brazil
- Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Brazil
- Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (ICAQF/UNIFESP), Brazil
Scientific instruments and payload configuration
List of scientific instruments for the mission:
HALO flights for this mission
Flights are listed by
Aircraft registration | Date | Take-off / Landing (UT) | Total flight time (h) | From / To | Mission #
- D-ADLR | yyyy-mm-dd | hh:mm:ss – hh:mm:ss | h.hh | CODE – CODE | RF01
More information
Press releases, media etc.
Initial press release
Voos científicos vão medir carbono e metano na atmosfera em três biomas brasileiros
Article on The Brazilian government’s web site
3 August 2026