A stratospheric balloon for primary school pupils
17 May 2006
A sounding balloon took flight from the Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees on 10 May. What was special about this balloon is that the gondola was built by primary school pupils, who were there for the launch and watched wide-eyed as it floated aloft. The balloon will be sending back data to answer the children’s questions about climate.
The children’s stratospheric balloon
For the 9-to-11 year-olds at Jacques Prévert primary school in the Pyrenean town of Rabastens de Bigorre, the release of the balloon marked the culmination of months of effort to build the gondola carrying 3 photographic cameras as well as brightness and temperature sensors.
The sounding balloon rose into the stratosphere, where it is now acquiring readings of atmospheric pressure and temperature at altitudes up to 30 km.
These data will help the pupils to study how pressure and temperature change with altitude.
Comparing data
The balloon release is part of CNES’s Calisph’Air programme aimed at raising youngsters’ awareness of environmental issues, especially climate change.
To this end, data from the balloon will be compared with those acquired by the Parasol atmosphere-observing satellite and with scientific readings taken in the Arctic far north of Canada by the Voyageurs des Glaces (ice travellers) expedition.
On this occasion, a phone link-up was organized so that pupils could talk to the young explorers taking part in this expedition in Nunavut.
On this occasion, a phone link-up was organized so that pupils could talk to the young explorers taking part in this expedition in Nunavut.
Results will be added to the body of environmental data already built up by the international Globe programme, which involves pupils, teachers and scientists around the world.
