By Erica McNamee of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Thunderclouds roll over the sky, raindrops fall sporadically, but, with the humidity at 81 percent,\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t even feel them.\u00a0In the\u00a0damp\u00a0landscape of Houston, Texas,\u00a048\u00a0undergraduate\u00a0students from across the country\u00a0are\u00a0gathered\u00a0to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience of hands-on science and data-gathering with NASA scientists\u00a0and university mentors.\u00a0NASA\u2019s Student Airborne Research Program, or SARP<\/a>, is an\u00a08-week internship\u00a0held annually on the East and West coasts. This year,\u00a0though, the students of SARP East and SARP West are\u00a0meeting\u00a0in the middle for the first portion of their internship. These next weeks are going to be jam-packed for the students and their mentors, and it all begins today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Day one of data collection sets the stage for science experiments and results.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s really special for the students to see this level of science, planning, and operations in action,\u201d said Dan Sousa, SARP mentor and a professor at San Diego State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the course of these two weeks in Houston, students\u00a0will\u00a0split into groups\u00a0on topics such as\u00a0hydrology, atmosphere, land, and\u00a0the\u00a0ocean. They\u2019ll\u00a0take\u00a0water,\u00a0soil, and atmospheric\u00a0samples\u00a0from\u00a0the ground and fly in\u00a0research\u00a0aircraft\u00a0with instruments,\u00a0taking atmospheric measurements, and bring their data back to the classroom to learn from the experts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese are life-changing opportunities for students,\u201d said SARP mentor Don Ciruzzi,\u00a0an assistant professor from the College of William & Mary. \u201cThese are opportunities for students to not only learn about our planet, but also to learn about themselves. We want to\u00a0help them build confidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This program is only just beginning, with the first flights taking place now, and ground research and oceanographic research starting in the upcoming days.\u00a0Keep an eye on this blog and the @nasaearth\u00a0social media\u00a0accounts for more content about SARP.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/solar-system\/nasa-starfield.webp\"\/)
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