NASA's Arctic Balloon Missions Set for 2024 Sweden Campaign

NASA's Arctic Balloon Missions Set for 2024 Sweden Campaign
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 01, 2024

In mid-May, NASA is slated to initiate the 2024 Sweden Long-Duration Scientific Balloon Campaign at the Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden, located north of the Arctic Circle. This endeavor will deploy four stadium-sized balloons, equipped with scientific missions and technology demonstrations, through early July.

"NASA's Balloon Program is excited to conduct our long-duration balloon campaign from Sweden this year," said Andrew Hamilton, acting director of NASA's Balloon Program Office. "Our partnership with the Swedish Space Corporation is valuable to NASA and the scientific community by allowing us to use their high-quality facilities at Esrange."

Situated in a remote region of northern Sweden, Esrange offers nearly constant daylight during the summer, providing ideal conditions for the campaign. The zero-pressure balloons utilized are particularly suited for extended flights in these conditions, avoiding the typical gas loss associated with daily temperature variations. "The location of the launch range and the stratospheric winds allow for excellent flight conditions to gather many days of scientific data as the balloons traverse from Sweden to northern Canada," said Hamilton.

These scientific balloons serve as an efficient method for NASA and global universities to test, monitor, and retrieve scientific experiments. The heavy-lift balloons are capable of carrying payloads up to 8,000 pounds to near-space altitudes.

The Sweden campaign will feature four main missions:

HELIX (High-Energy Light Isotope eXperiment): This involves a balloon-borne experiment with a superconducting magnet to measure cosmic ray isotopes at previously unexplored energy levels, aiding in determining their age within our galaxy.

BOOMS (Balloon Observation of Microburst Scales): Equipped with a high-resolution X-ray imager, this mission aims to observe electron microbursts in the polar atmosphere. Its goal is to qualify a new balloon design capable of exceeding altitudes of 150,000 feet.

SUNRISE-III: This solar observatory will perform detailed imaging and spectro-polarimetry of the Sun's photosphere and chromosphere to assess magnetic fields, temperatures, and velocities with high resolution.

XL-Calibur: A telescope focused on studying galactic black holes and neutron stars to understand electron acceleration and X-ray emission processes. Additionally, several piggyback missions will share the XL-Calibur balloon flight:

IRCSP (Infrared Channeled Spectro-Polarimeter): A mission to develop technology for high-altitude spectro-polarimetric measurements of cloud tops, enhancing understanding of weather and climate models.

WALRUSS (Wallops Atmospheric Light Radiation and Ultraviolet Spectrum Sensor): This mission will measure UV radiation and ozone concentrations, contributing to atmospheric studies.