Thursday 24th January

Today saw the first science flight of MOYA get off the ground. It was so exciting that I completely forgot, and was in the middle of recording a podcast with Pat Barker from Manchester when it happened. I am sure there was a little cheer from everyone paying attention!

The aircraft went up to Lake Kyoga in the middle of the country, where the aim was to sample wetland emissions of methane. They also saw several plumes of smoke coming from fires, and much of the area was not actually wetland but relatively built up.

It was great to get things started and get some samples over this area. It may be more of a challenge to disentangle the signals from the lake and the fires, but that’s what happens in the real world – things are messy!

There will be a flight tomorrow (Friday 25th) if all goes to plan and then we will really get into the swing of things. Forecasts are looking good for a flight over another Lake and to sample the city of Kampala so I am really looking forward to that one – it’s got a bit of everything!