Evie asked: What is the balloon made out of?
Carolyn: It is made of thin plastic film, called polyethylene. The thickness is similar to that of plastic sandwich wrap. It is very light to help the balloon reach the required altitude.
Jem asked: How does the balloon get up into the air?
Carolyn: It is partially filled with helium - just enough to get it off the ground. Helium is a gas which is lighter than air so it causes the balloon to rise. At first the balloon is a tear drop shape but as it rises the gas expands and builds up pressure so it fills out to a pumpkin shape.
Here are the trucks containing the helium, parked up ready by the airport runway.
Evie asked: Why didn't you launch the balloon today, as it there doesn't seem to be any wind?
Carolyn explained that although it seemed calm to us there were still light winds blowing across the runway. She showed us the windsock on the airport runway and we observed it moving slightly in the breeze. There needs to be at least 2 hours of calm, still conditions for the balloon to be launched successfully. The chances of these conditions are higher early in the morning.
I asked: What information will the balloon gather and how is this data processed?
Carolyn showed us the COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager) and explained how it uses a special camera and telescope to measure gamma rays. These are rays of light with the shortest wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum and are not visible to the human eye. They help us to find out information about stars, supernova explosions and black holes! The data is transmitted back to scientists at Berkeley University who will analyse the images and information gathered.
Here are some pictures of the COSI telescope:
It is wrapped in silver aluminium and has a layer of insulation to help regulate its temperature over warm days and cold nights.
It is securely attached to the base of the balloon and will transmit images during the duration of the flight.
Jem asked: How long will the balloon be up in the air?
Carolyn: We are hoping it will circumnavigate the earth for up to 100 days.
I asked: How do you control its altitude?
Carolyn: The amount of helium determines the altitude. The amount needed has been carefully researched beforehand. It does carry ballast that can be dropped if we need to reduce its altitude.
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| The white box contains the ballast. |
Carolyn: There is an explosive device inside the balloon which creates a large tear in it. As the helium escapes the balloon will fall back to earth. Usually it starts to descend by itself so we make the decision to bring it in. There is a parachute attached to the COSI to help bring it safely back to earth. Hopefully we can recover the balloon, but it can be tricky as it may land in the ocean.
Evie asked: Why did you choose Wanaka as the best place to launch the balloon from?
Carolyn: We need to make sure that the risk of the balloon landing on populated areas is minimised. New Zealand is sparsely populated compared to other countries and its latitude is also favourable. As the balloon travels around the earth at this latitude it does not pass over any highly populated areas. We chose Wanaka out of the whole of New Zealand because it has calm settled weather at this time of year, great facilities at the airport and it is a wonderful place for the scientists to stay.
I asked: What made you want to be a scientist?
Carolyn: I think it all started with getting into maths around the kitchen table! My mother was a maths teacher and we loved talking about mtahematical problems at home. At school I loved physics and went on to study it at university. I am now 28 years old and I am still studying as I am completing my PHd at Berkeley University. I feel very lucky to be involved with such an important NASA program.
Thank you so much to Carolyn Kierans for taking the time to talk with us. Good luck with the launch and we hope you enjoy the remainder of your time in Wanaka.
I asked: What made you want to be a scientist?
Carolyn: I think it all started with getting into maths around the kitchen table! My mother was a maths teacher and we loved talking about mtahematical problems at home. At school I loved physics and went on to study it at university. I am now 28 years old and I am still studying as I am completing my PHd at Berkeley University. I feel very lucky to be involved with such an important NASA program.
Aren't we lucky to have such an exciting space program running from our little town? Carolyn is confident that the conditions may be favourable for the balloon to be launched towards the end of next week. If you happen to miss it you can catch up with all the action and find out more information on the following sites:
Thank you so much to Carolyn Kierans for taking the time to talk with us. Good luck with the launch and we hope you enjoy the remainder of your time in Wanaka.
