[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6628\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHelium balloons offer low-cost flights to the stratosphere \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere is more to thin air than meets the eye. The gases surrounding our planet scatter light waves, dim their brightness and jumble their colours, as seen by the reds, oranges and purples visible in the sky at sunset.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt makes earth a safe and scenic refuge, but also a noisy one for scientists studying its surroundings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When studying the atmosphere, altitude matters,\u2019 said Professor Klaus Pfeilsticker, an environmental physicist specialised in remote-sensing techniques at the Heidelberg University\u0026nbsp;in Germany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe atmosphere interferes with all signals that can be used to probe it. This blurs experimental results and makes it particularly hard to pinpoint the altitude at which aerial phenomena take place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMolecules\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Pfeilsticker\u2019s research focuses on how gases impact the environment, using helium balloons to survey which molecules can be found above us, and how they impact life below.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis work is centred around halogen-based gases, which seem harmless at first glance. For instance, dibromomethane and bromoform are produced by microalgae in the ocean and their chemical bonds react so fast that they rarely drift far from the ecosystems that release them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003EBut given the right tailwind, they can soar 14 kilometres above the oceans and wreak havoc in the ozone layer.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003EF\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003Eour years ago, Prof. Pfeilsticker coordinated an EU-funded research project called SHIVA to demonstrate that short-lived halogen-containing gases deplete as much ozone as the pollutants banned by the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to protect the ozone layer made in 1987.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis damage is balanced by the natural rate at which ozone reforms. But as climate change heats oceans and air currents, more halogen-compounds could sweep into the stratosphere and widen the hole in the ozone layer in ways that we cannot control with regulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SHIVA consortium managed to quantify the impact of these short-lived gases because it checked the results on site.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Helium balloons can lift half a tonne of scientific equipment more than 30 kilometres in the air.\u2019\u0026amp;nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EPhilipp Maier, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProject partners flew aircraft 12 kilometres high to collect air samples above the clouds and calibrate their ground measurements, but detailing the risk will require high-altitude balloons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe air within the ozone layer is too thin to fly planes through, so the only way to take measurements there is to strap the instruments onto a rocket or underneath a balloon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Using a research aircraft, SHIVA just managed to graze the lower boundary of the ozone layer,\u2019 said Prof. Pfeilsticker. \u2018In the end, deeper understanding will require vehicles that can rise higher into the stratosphere.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhilipp Maier at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany argues that balloons can offer the most economical solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Helium balloons can lift half a tonne of scientific equipment more than 30 kilometres in the air,\u2019 he said. That would carry instruments for chemical-analysis right into the heart of the ozone layer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo date, the main limitation to balloon-mounted observatories has been their clunky manoeuvrability. In principle, helium balloons can sail the high winds to any destination over the globe. In practice, catching the right air current means venting plenty of helium or dropping lots of ballast, a heavy material used to provide stability while floating.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe scientific equipment and unwieldy controls tend to bring stratospheric balloon missions to an unscripted descent in a matter of days, sometimes damaging their costly payload and raising safety concerns down below.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003EDr Jos\u00e9-Luis Ortiz at the\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E, Spain, is convinced that the technology for better steering and safer landing exists. The challenge is packaging it in a marketable product.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003ETwo-balloon systems\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are smarter ways of diving and rising,\u2019 said Dr Ortiz. \u2018Two-balloon systems in which one half can expand while the other remains rigid could, for instance, make ballast obsolete.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Researchers are using balloons to reach the edge of space. Image credit: Alejandro S\u00e1nchez\/ORISON\u0022 height=\u00221128\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Lyrids%20Mission%20-%20From%20Alejandro%20S%C3%A1nchez%20ORISON.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Researchers are using balloons to reach the edge of space. Image credit: Alejandro S\u00e1nchez\/ORISON\u0022 width=\u0022753\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EResearchers are using balloons to reach the edge of space. Image credit: Alejandro S\u00e1nchez\/ORISON\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther incremental advances could increase flight duration and make the balloon payload reusable. Dr Ortiz cites the miniaturisation of electronic components as an example of how gradual improvements are making balloon cargoes lighter and cheaper to assemble. His partners have controlled airborne telescopes using the same Raspberry Pi computer chips that allow hobbyists to build homemade robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the EU-funded project ORISON, a scientific consortium led by Dr Ortiz has partnered with EY, the largest accounting firm in Europe. Together they are working on a business plan for floating instruments to the stratosphere.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u2018Today, scientists embarking on balloon missions have to build a lot of the equipment themselves,\u2019 said Dr Ortiz. ORISON aims to sublet fully functional observatories, allowing their clients to focus on the research. According to Dr Ortiz, this is comparable to the business model for many ground-based telescopes.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022 style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile bargain flights to the stratosphere could appeal to many areas of research, ORISON\u2019s first target audience is astronomers. Project partners have test-flown missions this year in which they have taken hundreds of close-contact photographs with meteors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFloating telescopes offer star-gazers the obvious perks of rising above cloudy weather and preventing signals being absorbed in the ultra-violet and near-infrared. \u2018It is exciting to spot water on other planets,\u2019 said Maier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The earth\u0027s atmosphere is mainly filled with oxygen and nitrogen at sea-level, the lighter gases such as hydrogen and helium rise up.\u0022 height=\u00221109\u0022 src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HeliumBalloonsFinal.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022The earth\u0027s atmosphere is mainly filled with oxygen and nitrogen at sea-level, the lighter gases such as hydrogen and helium rise up.\u0022 width=\u0022973\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe earth\u0027s atmosphere is mainly filled with oxygen and nitrogen at sea-level, the lighter gases such as hydrogen and helium rise up.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-u-trpnsmvvgatj83kahjr21jjxkjcy1-kgiayjwkbsq\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-U_TrpnSmvVGatJ83kAhJR21JJxKjCy1_kgIAyjwkBsQ\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]