{"id":186522,"date":"2025-03-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=833630"},"modified":"2025-03-15T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:00:00","slug":"nasa-super-pressure-balloons-return-to-new-zealand-for-test-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=186522","title":{"rendered":"NASA Super Pressure Balloons Return to New Zealand for Test Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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5 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A super pressure balloon with the EUSO-2 payload is prepared for launch from W\u0101naka, New Zealand, during NASA\u2019s campaign in 2023.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Bill Rodman<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA\u2019s Scientific Balloon Program has returned to W\u0101naka, New Zealand, for two scheduled flights to test and qualify the agency\u2019s super pressure balloon technology. These stadium-sized, heavy-lift balloons will travel the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s mid-latitudes for planned missions of 100 days or more. <\/p>\n

Launch operations are scheduled to begin in late March from W\u0101naka Airport, NASA\u2019s dedicated launch site for mid-latitude, ultra long-duration balloon missions.  <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to return to New Zealand for this campaign to officially flight qualify the balloon vehicle for future science investigations,\u201d said Gabriel Garde, chief of NASA\u2019s Balloon Program Office at the agency\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. \u201cOur dedicated team both in the field and at home has spent years in preparation for this opportunity, and it has been through their hard work, fortitude, and passion that we are back and fully ready for the upcoming campaign.\u201d <\/p>\n

While the primary flight objective is to test and qualify the super pressure balloon technology, the flights will also host science missions and technology demonstrations. The High-altitude Interferometer Wind Observation (HIWIND), led by High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, will fly as a mission of opportunity on the first flight. The HIWIND<\/a> payload will measure neutral wind in the part of Earth\u2019s atmosphere called the thermosphere. Understanding these winds will help scientists predict changes in the ionosphere, which can affect communication and navigation systems. The second flight will support several piggyback missions of opportunity, or smaller payloads, including: <\/p>\n