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Ballooning for Biologists: Mission Essentials for Flying Life Science Experiments to Near Space on NASA Large Scientific Balloons

David J. Smith

David J. Smith

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research CenterMoffett Field,
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Smith, David J.
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Marianne B. Sowa

Marianne B. Sowa

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research CenterMoffett Field,
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Sowa, Marianne B.
  
Jul 20, 2020
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Article Category: Review Article
Published Online: Jul 20, 2020
Page range: 52 - 73
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2017-0005
Keywords
© 2017 David J. Smith et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Launch site locations of the NASA Balloon Program. Map backdrop image courtesy of http://www.freeworldmaps.net.
Launch site locations of the NASA Balloon Program. Map backdrop image courtesy of http://www.freeworldmaps.net.

Figure 2

Balloon system overview at launch site in Ft. Sumner, NM. Note pickup truck and ground personnel for relative scale. The entire length of the flight system is not depcited but ranges from 150 to 300 m. Photos taken at launch of Long Duration Balloon Technology Flight #651 in August 2014.
Balloon system overview at launch site in Ft. Sumner, NM. Note pickup truck and ground personnel for relative scale. The entire length of the flight system is not depcited but ranges from 150 to 300 m. Photos taken at launch of Long Duration Balloon Technology Flight #651 in August 2014.

Figure 3

Generalized profile of Earth's atmosphere (not to scale) and the diurnal altitude variations between NASA Zero Pressure (ZP) Balloons and Super Pressure (SP) Balloons.
Generalized profile of Earth's atmosphere (not to scale) and the diurnal altitude variations between NASA Zero Pressure (ZP) Balloons and Super Pressure (SP) Balloons.

Figure 4

(A) A large NASA balloon at float in the stratosphere carrying a scientific payload, as viewed from a chase aircraft; (B) The Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere (E-MIST) payload, flown most recently in October 2015 (Khodadad et al., 2017), was an exposure-class experiment that transported Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 bacterial endospores (aliquots visible as small dots on metal coupons) to ~32 km ASL where conditions mimic Mars.
(A) A large NASA balloon at float in the stratosphere carrying a scientific payload, as viewed from a chase aircraft; (B) The Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere (E-MIST) payload, flown most recently in October 2015 (Khodadad et al., 2017), was an exposure-class experiment that transported Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 bacterial endospores (aliquots visible as small dots on metal coupons) to ~32 km ASL where conditions mimic Mars.

Figure 5

Simplified design for a ground chamber test that would simulate a conventional balloon flight profile. Temperature and pressure conditions shown for a 12 h flight launching from Ft. Sumner, NM, in autumn (based on data from Test Flight #667NT).
Simplified design for a ground chamber test that would simulate a conventional balloon flight profile. Temperature and pressure conditions shown for a 12 h flight launching from Ft. Sumner, NM, in autumn (based on data from Test Flight #667NT).
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
2 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, Life Sciences, other, Materials Sciences, Materials Sciences, other, Physics, Physics, other
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