Balloons are illuminated continuously because the sun never sets during the Antarctic summer. Two unique geophysical conditions above Antarctica make long-duration balloon flights circumnavigating the continent possible during the three-month period.Ī nearly circular pattern of gentle east-to-west winds that lasts for a few weeks allows the recovery of a balloon from roughly the same geographic location from which it was launched, and permits a flight path that is almost entirely above land. Flying to altitudes of nearly 25 miles, the balloons carry payloads weighing up to 6,000 pounds.ĭuring part of each Antarctic summer, from December to February, NASA and the National Science Foundation conduct a scientific balloon campaign. NASA scientific balloons are composed of a lightweight polyethylene film, similar to sandwich wrap. NASA's goal is to eventually develop a 26-million cubic-foot super-pressure balloon, nearly the size of a football stadium. It is twice the size of a similar balloon flown over Antarctica for 54 days from December 2008 to February 2009. The 14-million-cubic-foot NASA balloon is the largest single-cell, fully-sealed, super-pressure structure ever flown. BLAST's instrumentation and telescope will collect data to make the first high-resolution images of magnetically polarized dust in a number of nearby star forming regions.Ī super-pressure balloon test flight also will be conducted. This experiment will investigate how magnetic fields impede star formation in our galaxy. Next in line will be an experiment from the University of Pennsylvania called the Balloon Borne Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST). These test flights will help scientists prepare for similar flight experiments scheduled for launch in 20. BARREL will provide answers on how and where Earth's Van Allen radiation belts, which produce the polar aurora, periodically interact with Earth's upper atmosphere. They carried the Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) experiment designed and constructed at Dartmouth College. Two smaller, hand-launched space science payloads have already been launched, flown and successfully terminated. Currently, CREAM VI is floating 126,000 ft above Antarctica with nominal science operations.
CREAM is investigating high-energy cosmic-ray particles that originated from distant supernovae explosions in the Milky Way and reached Earth. The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM VI) experiment was designed and built at the University of Maryland. It was the first of five scientific balloons scheduled to launch from Antarctica in December. NASA and the National Science Foundation launched a scientific balloon on Monday, December 20, Eastern Standard time, to study the effects of cosmic rays on Earth. Telephone numbers or other contact information mayīe out of date please see current contact information at media This material is available primarily for archival Launch of Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) balloon near McMurdo Station.
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