The five-metre-long trailing probe HELiPOD is attached to a helicopter with a 25 m long rope. In the field, it can collect environmental data – without the interference of its own turbulence. The HELiPOD weighs about 300 kilograms and is packed with modern sensors for collecting various data. The instruments are mainly used for meteorological measurements as well as particles and various trace gases, such as methane measurements. It is operated by the TU Braunschweig.