NASA Langley Research Center employees — using technology developed decades ago in Hampton — are preparing to join one of the agency's most comprehensive studies of hurricanes.

The project, called GRIP, or Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes, will explore basic unresolved questions. Among them: How do tropical storms form? And how do they become major hurricanes?

"We want to know what are the conditions that create a hurricane," said Michael Kavaya, a Langley engineer assigned to GRIP. "We also want to learn more about the path hurricanes take and how they intensify."

To monitor the unpredictable and violent storms, NASA will employ three satellites, three airplanes, and numerous scientists. It will use 14 instruments — three of which were developed at Langley, including Doppler LIDAR, a powerful laser that can measure hurricane winds in the three dimensions.

LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, was developed at Langley during the 1980s, according to Kavaya. Initially designed to help pilots navigate through dangerous winds, Langley researchers soon found other applications for it.

The three planes — based in Florida, Texas and California — will fly above hurricanes between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30. Data gathered by the LIDAR and other instruments will be compared with information from the satellites and ground-based observatories.

From there, scientists and researchers will spend at least three years analyzing the data. Depending on what they find, the project could be extended two years, Kavaya said.

He did not know how much money NASA set aside for GRIP, but the agency is planning a national press conference on Thursday to discuss the project in greater detail.

For more science and environment news, visit the Daily Press blog, The Deadrise, at dailypress.com/deadrise or check facebook.com/deadrise.