NASA to launch 8.4-foot long stratospheric telescope on football stadium-sized balloon

NASA has started work on a new mission that will launch an 8.4-foot long in stratosphere on a giant balloon. Scheduled for launch in December 2023, ASTHROS (Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths) will be mounted on a balloon size of a football stadium and sent into stratosphere from Antarctica.

cutting-edge telescope will spend around three weeks over sourn polar cap and te astrophysical observations that can pave way for future missions. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is managing ASTHROS which is capable of observing far-infrared light. telescope needs to attain an altitude of 130,000ft -- nearly four times altitude of commercial flights but still well within planet's pull. At this altitude, telescope will be able to record light wavelengths blocked by atmosphere. JPL engineers will begin integrating and testing sub-systems of mission payload in August.   

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Scientific Balloon Program 

NASA has been operating its Scientific Balloon Program for 30 years w and launches 10 to 15 missions a year to support scientific experience and techlogical development as well as educational purposes. While using balloons for scientific missions might seem outdated, it's a cost-effective method of launching and testing new techlogies that haven't been into .   

Moreover, shorter time gap between planning and deployment makes use of balloons viable for high-risk missions that entail testing state-of--art techlogies. Unkwn technical or operational challenges that can impact mission output can be mitigated better with use of balloons.  

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