High Altitude Balloon

Abstract

Around 5-300 tons of meteorite dust falls to Earth each day, carrying valuable information about the formation and evolution of planets, moons, and the solar system. However, most particles become contaminated as they fall through the lower atmosphere. In order to get over this challenge, our study focuses on the design and development of a high-altitude balloon system capable of collecting micrometeorite dust in the stratosphere, where terrestrial interference is minimal. The balloon is equipped with a 3D-printed chassis and petri dish door mechanism controlled by a custom microcontroller system. Using GPS data, the petri dish is programmed to automatically open at approximately 60,000 feet and close during descent to not collect contaminated particles. Although the balloon has not yet been launched to see the results, the system is engineered to successfully retrieve uncontaminated micrometeorite samples from the stratosphere. This method provides a low-cost, scalable approach to space-related research and supports future investigations in planetary science and astrobiology.

Team Members