The project is called MEAP (Mars Environment Analogue Platform) and will be carried out during the summer of 2008. MEAP is a test mission to try out new technology (the mass spectrometer P-BACE, Polar Balloon Atmospheric Composition Experiment), which has primarily been developed to conduct a number of measurements on Mars during forthcoming missions. The test project MEAP will be carried out in the Earth’s stratosphere, an environment that has many similarities to the conditions at the surface of Mars.
Prof. Stas Barabash at IRF emphasises the scientific significance of the project: “It is an exciting project that will play an important role in the development of similar instruments for planetary and atmospheric research, particularly on Mars but even on Venus. The mission will also strengthen the collaboration between the two largest space organisations in Kiruna, IRF and SSC.”
The MEAP project will even help to extend the range of balloon flights from the Esrange Space Center. Circumpolar flights during the winter, when the winds in the stratosphere blow from the West, have been performed from Esrange Space Center for many years. Winter flights involve polar darkness which is advantageous for certain measurements that are sensitive for extraneous light. Now it is time to offer the same thing during the summer months when the winds in the stratosphere blow from the East. Summer flights occur during a period with midnight sun when the sun can provide renewable energy for the experiment via solar panels, something which is often necessary during long flights.
If all goes according to plan the balloon with fly with the help of the summer polar vortex at a height of 30-40 kilometres and land about a week later in Canada or Alaska. Dr Olle Norberg, manager at Esrange, SSC, has a strong belief in this summer’s flight and looks forward to the time when these flights can also be extended further, into circumpolar flights round the North Pole. That will be the next step in the development of balloon activities. SSC is already working to obtain permission to fly over Russia.
“Circumpolar flights are in great demand by scientists from around the world,” says Dr Olle Norberg. “Scientists want to perform longer measurements both during the summer and the winter. The opportunity to fly balloons right round the North Pole would in all likelihood greatly increase the number of balloon flights from Kiruna.”
Source: Swedish Space Corporation
Related stories:
Like a rock: New mineral named for UW astronomer
The International Mineralogical Association has named a new mineral, the first to be discovered in a particle from a comet, in honor of Donald Brownlee, a University of Washington astronomer who revolutionized research on interplanetary dust entering Earth's atmosphere.
Scientific Balloons Achieve Antarctic Flight Record
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have jointly achieved a new milestone in the almost 20-year history of scientific ballooning in Antarctica, by launching and operating three long-duration sub-orbital flights within a single Southern-Hemisphere summer.
Solar telescope reaches 120,000 feet on jumbo-jet-sized balloon
In a landmark test flight, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and a team of research partners this month successfully launched a solar telescope to an altitude of 120,000 feet, borne by a balloon larger than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The test clears the way for long-duration polar balloon flights beginning in 2009 that will capture unprecedented details of the Sun's surface.
Dartmouth researcher proposes the use of high-altitude airships for astronomy
Dartmouth astronomy professor Robert Fesen appreciates NASA's Hubble Telescope, which he says has proven to be a terrific astronomical observatory since it was launched in 1990. But, he adds, there may be a vastly cheaper way to obtain nearly as sharp images of stars and galaxies that doesn't require space shuttle flights or teams of astronauts to launch or repair it.
Students Steer a Blimp to Test Near Space Military Technology
Helium-Filled Airship Allows Tryout for Guidance, Navigation and Control System
Using a 17-foot-long helium-filled blimp, four propellers and sophisticated electronics, three Johns Hopkins undergraduates have built a model airship that will aid professional engineers who are designing a military craft to conduct surveillance at the outer edge of the Earth's atmosphere.
Sun-Powered Aircraft To Support Sustainable Development
Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard is constructing a solar-powered plane to fly around the world. His aim is to support sustainable development by demonstrating what renewable energy and new technologies can achieve.
NASA Researchers Studying Tropical Cyclones
NASA hurricane researchers are deploying to Costa Rica next month to investigate the birthplace of eastern Pacific tropical cyclones. They will be searching for clues that could lead to a greater understanding and better predictability of one of the world’s most significant weather events – the hurricane.
NASA Research Balloon Makes Record-Breaking Flight
Flying near the edge of space, a NASA scientific balloon broke the flight record for duration and distance. It soared for nearly 42 days, making three orbits around the South Pole.
The record-breaking balloon, almost as large as one and one half football fields, carried the Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment. CREAM is designed to explore the supernova acceleration limit of cosmic rays, the relativistic gas of protons, electrons and heavy nuclei arriving at Earth from outside the solar system.
