Space Experiments Section

	An approximately 50 km view of the earth's surface, photographed from the ER-2 during a flight at an altitude of about 65,000 feet

General Information

It is well known that stratospheric ozone is important because it blocks out the harmful UV rays of the sun. Canada, and other countries, have been involved in global ozone observations for nearly 40 years. Nowadays, part of that monitoring involves the use of Canadian technology on ER-2 high altitude planes flown by NASA on scientific missions. Dr Tom McElroy of Environment Canada works with the spectrometer, the only non-American instrument on the plane. The spectrometer is mounted inside a pod on the wing of the plane, where a missile detector used to be when versions of these aircraft, then known as U-2, were flown on spy missions in the 1950s and 1960s. The instruments measure how much energy is hitting the air, the light coming from the horizon and from the sun itself.

In cooperation with NASA Ames Research Center, the Section has participated and is participating in several Earth Science projects, namely SPADE, ASHOE/MAESA, STRAT, POLARIS, MANTRA, SOLVE and the MAESTRO part of ACE on SCISAT.

MANTRA

Click on the picture to get a bigger image. The MANTRA balloon being prepared for launch near Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada.

In August 1998, 2000, 2002 the Section participated in the MANTRA (Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment) program. It consisted of a balloon carrying scientific instruments being launched into the stratosphere.

The balloon is being filled with helium through the “umbilical cord” in the foreground. The helium enters at the bottom. The “cord” is anchored at the two ends and is floating in the air in the middle. There is a large truck with a red trailer to the right of the balloon. When fully inflated the balloon reaches 75 metres high, as high as a 25-story building. As it rises into the stratosphere where the pressure is 1/500th surface pressure, it expands to 500 times this volume.

The 1998 flight failed to respond to its radio command to descend and then was blown for ten days across Canada, the Atlantic Ocean (where it had descended to the same altitude as commercial jets fly), the Arctic Ocean north of Russia, then turned back and finally landed on an island in the Baltic Sea off Finland. Fortunately no casualties occurred and almost all the scientific data was able to be recovered, but this incident provided reporters around the world with amusing stories.

More information is at the MANTRA home page.

For further information about the ARQX Space group go to Contact Us and indicate "Space studies" as the subject.