Dartmouth Students To Launch Balloons For NASA (VPR)

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In January, NASA will launch 25 balloons from Antarctica in hopes of unraveling the mystery behind what scientists call the “radiation belt” around the earth. Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Robyn Millan and a team of her students are playing a pivotal role in the NASA mission.

As a VPR interview points out, the Dartmouth team is responsible for building the metal frameworks that will carry the balloons’ scientific instruments. Brett Anderson, a third year PhD graduate student in physics working with Professor Millan, explained the details of the team’s work to VPR. “We attach the flight train and the parachute to the payload itself and then lift it off the ground and suspend it and make sure that the payload is level,” he says. “Then we weigh it to make sure we know how much weight we have on board.”

Listen to the story, broadcast on 6/14/12 by VPR.

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