{"id":10810,"date":"2024-04-30T18:01:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T22:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-balloons-head-north-of-arctic-circle-for-long-duration-flights\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T18:01:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T22:01:55","slug":"nasa-balloons-head-north-of-arctic-circle-for-long-duration-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-balloons-head-north-of-arctic-circle-for-long-duration-flights\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Balloons Head North of Arctic Circle for Long-Duration Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Balloons Head North of Arctic Circle for Long-Duration Flights<\/h2>\n

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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA is set to begin launch operations mid-May for the 2024 Sweden Long-Duration Scientific Balloon Campaign. Four stadium-sized, scientific balloons carrying science missions and technology demonstrations are scheduled to lift off from Swedish Space Corporation\u2019s Esrange Space Center, situated north of the Arctic Circle near Kiruna, Sweden. The campaign will continue through early July.<\/p>\n

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Technicians attach the SUNRISE payload to its balloon and parachute from the launch site in Kiruna, Sweden, during the 2009 campaign. The mission returns for the 2024 Sweden Long-Duration Scientific Balloon Campaign as one of four primary missions set to launch between May and July.<\/div>\n
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cNASA\u2019s Balloon Program is excited to conduct our long-duration balloon campaign from Sweden this year,\u201d said Andrew Hamilton, acting director of NASA\u2019s Balloon Program Office. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esrange, located in a vast unpopulated area in the northernmost part of Sweden, is an ideal location for the campaign. This area in Sweden\u2019s polar region experiences constant daylight during summer. NASA\u2019s zero-pressure balloons, used during the campaign, typically experience gas loss during the warming and cooling of the day to night cycle. However, they can perform long-duration flights in the constant sunlight of a polar region. \u201cThe 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,\u201d said Hamilton.<\/p>\n

Four primary missions on deck for the Sweden campaign include:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n