The Surprising History of Scientific Ballooning in 11 Missions

Summary

Last year, NASA lofted a massive balloon over Antarctica, carrying beneath it a 5,000-pound telescope. Known as GUSTO, it will help astronomers understand the story of star formation in the universe. A lofted balloon might seem rather a low-tech approach to enable front-line cosmological discoveries in an era when rockets are now ripping into space with such regularity. But scientists have been working for nearly 250 years to perfect the art of scientific ballooning. From the first samples of the Earth’s high troposphere—gathered in a glass bottle—to new hints about the shape of the universe, balloons have played a surprisingly important role in our understanding of our own planet and the universe beyond. Here are 11 of the most fascinating balloon missions across history.1783: In late 1700s France, the Montgolfier brothers sent the first passengers into the skies in a balloon: At the court of King Louis XVI at Versailles, they loaded a sheep, duck, and chicken into a round wicker basket tied to a hydrogen-filled balloon by a rope. As onlookers applauded in awe, the balloon lifted off the ground and soared into the air—only to descend into nearby woods 10 minutes later. (The animals survived the flight.)Just two months later, human passengers boarded a basket attached to a spherical balloon, which toured the heavens for 25 minutes. A new era of science had commenced: Human aeronauts began using balloons to study the atmosphere. ADVERTISEMENT Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . During a crash landing, he and his assistant wore helmets fashioned from wicker chicken baskets.1804: French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac flew a balloon up to 23,000 feet to study how gases react to different environments. He carried a thermometer, a barometer, and a hygrometer with him. High in the atmosphere, he filled an evacuated glass bottle—the air had been removed from inside to create a vacuum—with an air sample and found that it had the same chemical ...