First NASA Scientific Balloon Launches from Antarctica
The GAPS experiment prepares to launch from Antarctica Rubilotta
NASA/Andy Hamilton
The first scientific balloon flight of this year’s NASA Antarctica Balloon Campaign reached its float altitude after lifting off from the agency’s facility located near the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station on the Ross Ice Shelf at 5:30 a.m. NZST, Tuesday, Dec 16 (11:30 a.m., Monday, Dec. 15 in U.S. Eastern Time). The balloon is carrying the GAPS experiment floating at an altitude of 120,000 feet above Earth’s surface.
The GAPS experiment is designed to help reveal the origin of dark matter – an invisible form of matter that makes up more than 80% of the total matter in the universe, yet little is known about its true nature.
Track the balloon in realtime: https://www.csbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon6/flight759N.htm
