The reefs found in Earth’s oceans have been suffering from ecological damage for years from man based activities. NASA has now come up with an airborne mission to study the sensitive coral reef and the ecosystem at the famous Australian landmark.

It is ti be a three year mission which will offer the clearest and most extensive picture on the actual condition of the world’s largest coral reef. The data provided by the scientific study will help scientists in the future to come up with new models of analyzing the reef.

Six distinct sections of the reef have been identified for the purpose of this particular mission. These are spread over from the Capricorn-Bunker Group in the south to Torres Strait in the north. Two of these locations will serve as bases for in water validation of the data collected.

Scientists are coming together from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the University of Queensland in Brisbane, NASA and BIOS for the purpose of this study. Close to 900 islands and 2,900 reefs will be under scrutiny as part of this science project. It is truly a large scale study which should provide lost of data on the Great Barrier Reef.