After last year’s attempts to launch a balloon in the skies above Wānaka left hopes deflated, Nasa is back.
The space agency is planning two super pressure balloon (SPB) launches from Wānaka —Nasa’s dedicated launch site for mid-latitude, long-duration balloon missions.
The mission is primarily to test the agency's SPB technology, however Nasa also plans to fly a science payload — a Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) — as a mission of opportunity on each balloon.
SuperBIT uses a wide field of view to image large galaxy clusters from a balloon platform in a near-space environment.
By measuring the way these massive objects warp the space around them, also called "weak gravitational lensing", SuperBIT will be able to map the dark matter present in these clusters.
Nasa is yet to announce the opening of their launch window, but it will be weather-dependent.
Nasa conducts SPB launches from New Zealand in collaboration with the Queenstown Airport Corporation, Queenstown Lakes District Council, New Zealand Space Agency, and Airways New Zealand.
