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Planetary Studies

How do we develop technology to image and study other planets? Or to put rovers on Mars? Scientific ballooning is a cheaper way to test and develop experimental technology for planetary and exoplanet studies. Learn about scientific balloon launches that have directly contributed to exoplanet space missions on this page.

An artist's drawing of one of NASA's Mars rover on the surface of Mars

Scientific Balloon Contributions

Scientific ballooning is a cheap and easy way to test experimental technology in space-like conditions. We can be more confident in the technology we send to other planets if we know that it can work in our exosphere. The Perseverance Mars Rover, for example, has already been active on Mars for four years and counting. This achievement would not have been possible with the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LSDS) balloon testing. LSDS tested parachutes and deceleration methods for Perseverance before its arrival on Mars, ensuring it would land safely and with little impact damage. It is crucial to invest in scientific ballooning for exoplanets and planetary studies so that the technology will work wherever its destination may be.

before
after
A full mission dress rehearsal is held for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project, Friday, May 29, 2015, at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI.
Full mission dress rehearsal for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), Friday, May 29, 2015, U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI. The LDSD crosscutting technology demonstration mission will test breakthrough entry, descent and landing technologies that will enable large payloads to be landed safely on the surface of Mars. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie, made up of 62 individual images, on July 23. A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
A full mission dress rehearsal is held for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project, Friday, May 29, 2015, at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI.
Full mission dress rehearsal for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), Friday, May 29, 2015, U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI. The LDSD crosscutting technology demonstration mission will test breakthrough entry, descent and landing technologies that will enable large payloads to be landed safely on the surface of Mars. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie, made up of 62 individual images, on July 23. A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
before
after

Before and After

LDSD to Perseverance Rover

2013-2018

There are many examples of scientific balloons contributing to other space missions in several areas of science. Check out the Excel file below to see more examples of how scientific ballooning has contributed to space missions over the years.

Downloads

Scientific Balloons -> Space Mission

VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET

(14 KB)

Exoplanet Imaging

The EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) was launched in 2024 to photograph tidally locked Exoplanets’ atmospheres. Not only did this balloon-supported telescope contribute to our understanding of other planets, but it also influenced two later space missions: Pandora’s Multi-Purpose Control and Interface Electronics (MACIE) and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST) which has yet to launch.

Payload and launch vehicle in a high bay.
EXCITE payload being prepared in high-bay before launch.
NASA

Primary Investigators

Want to get in touch and ask more questions? See our “Fly With Us Page,” to learn more about the balloon flight application process or use the links below to get in contact with our various primary investigators who are experts in the field of planetary and exoplanet studies.

Primary Investigator Websites

P.I #1

PI Description.

Learn More About Planetary Studies at NASA

The Solar System formed from a cloud of gas, which gave rise to a proto-star, a proto-planetary disk, and eventually the seeds of what would become planets. The crowning achievement of our own Solar System's history is the creation and formation of Earth exactly as we have it today, which may not have been as special a cosmic rarity as once thought. Our planet will persist for a very long time, but just like everything else in this Universe, we won't last forever.

Planetary Sciences

A photo of the planet Mars

Mars

Exoplanet System Illustration

Exoplanets