MISSION STATEMENTThe DC-8 will operate as a national facility driven by societal benefits derived from advances in Earth Systems Science.
The National Suborbital Education and Research Center (NSERC) was formed jointly by NASA and the University of North Dakota. NSERC, a unit of UND's Northern Great Plains Center for People and the Environment, will operate NASA's DC-8 flying research laboratory.
The DC-8 is considered a scientific laboratory in which the traditional missions of a university (research, education and public engagement) are realized. The laboratory is operated as a national facility capable of conducting research anywhere in the global atmosphere.
Being housed at the University of North Dakota's Northern Great Plains Center for People and the Environment has great benefit for the program. It allows researchers, educators, and students from our many disciplines to work cooperatively to ensure that the uses of the aircraft are driven by the science of Earth systems.