Nasa

Nasa’s scientific balloon team in Wanaka, New Zealand, is preparing for the fourth flight of an 18.8 million cubic foot balloon, with an aim to achieve an ultra-long duration flight of up to 100 days at mid-latitudes.

Scheduled to be launched in April from New Zealand’s Wanaka Airport, the pumpkin-shaped, football stadium-size balloon will feature the space agency’s super-pressure balloon (SPB) technology.

The SPB is made from 22-acres of polyethylene film and its design is claimed to be a stronger and more durable variant of a sandwich bag.

Following the launch, the SPB will carry a 1,025kg payload including tracking, communications and scientific instruments, as well as travel eastward.

Nasa plans the SPB to go around the world once every one to three weeks, depending on wind speeds in the stratosphere.

In 2009, a SPB recorded flight duration of 54 days over Antarctica, marking the highest flight duration for a SPB.

Nasa said that longer-duration flights provide the opportunity for longer observations of scientific phenomena, ability to survey more sources as well as more time to study weak or subtle sources.

"This could be the flight for the record books."

Additionally, mid-latitude flights are necessary for night observations, especially for certain types of scientific investigations.

With the low-cost balloon mission, Nasa intends to create a platform for several scientific investigations that would otherwise need to launch into orbit.

Nasa’s balloon programme office chief Debbie Fairbrother said: "We are thrilled to be back in New Zealand for another test flight of this critical, potentially game-changing technology.

"This could be the flight for the record books."

Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI), a Nasa-funded telescope designed to probe the origins of galactic positrons, study the formation of new elements in the galaxy, as well as conduct studies of gamma-ray bursts and black holes, will also travel aboard the SPB.

In 2014, the payload flew on board the SPB test flight, which was terminated just one day and 20 hours after launch due to a small leak developed on the SPB, but the payload will fly again with the upcoming SPB flight.

Nasa launched its first SPB flight from Wanaka last March, during which it flew 32 days, 5.51 hours, taking it nearly around the world.

After spotting a leak in the balloon, the agency terminated its flight over a remote area of the Australian Outback.

Image: A Nasa SPB takes flight from Wanaka, New Zealand, in 2015. Photo: courtesy of Nasa.