NASA launches super balloon to collect near space dataApril 26, 2017 - 10:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A stadium-sized pressure balloon launched by NASA in New Zealand began collecting data in near space on Wednesday, April 26, beginning a 100-day planned journey after several launch attempts were thwarted by storms and cyclones, Reuters reports. The balloon, designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to detect ultra-high energy cosmic particles from beyond the galaxy as they penetrate the earth's atmosphere, is expected to circle the planet two or three times. "The origin of these particles is a great mystery that we'd like to solve. Do they come from massive black holes at the centre of galaxies? Tiny, fast-spinning stars? Or somewhere else?" Angela Olinto, a University of Chicago professor and lead investigator on the project, said in a statement. The balloon's monitoring was only the start of a long quest which would next involve a space mission currently being designed by NASA, she added. The balloon, launched on Tuesday in Wanaka, a scenic spot on New Zealand's South Island, will collect data from 34 km (21.1 miles) above the earth. New Zealand was also the base for NASA's scientific balloon program in 2015 and 2016. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. Armenia not going to war over Karabakh, says Pashinyan Armenia is not preparing to fight a war for Nagorno Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview. Caring for nature, we have started with ourselves - Team Telecom Armenia Team Telecom Armenia summarized the work undertaken within the company in the direction of environmental protection. Azerbaijani President travels to Moscow Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. |