The MARSBalloon Project
MARSBalloon is an exciting project for school students and science clubs to carry out Mars-analogue science experiments without having to put on a spacesuit!
Our balloon will carry over 100 student experiments to an altitude of 30km, more than twice the height of commercial airliners, where they will be above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere. Along the way they will experience conditions very similar to the surface of Mars including temperatures of -50°C, pressures 1/100th that of sea level and an increased radiation dose.
This allows students to test the response of electronics, materials, plants and even food to the conditions outside of a future Mars base, helping future explorers to prepare for this strange and hostile environment. The whole flight lasts approximately four hours and the MARSBalloon team will chase after the balloon to recover the experiments after landing, allowing them to be returned to the students for analysis.
The MARSBalloon project is supported by Thales UK and run by enthusiastic STEM supporters from Thales Alenia Space, that will test student ideas for technologies that could one day be destined for Mars.
The aim is to test anything that humans or robots will be doing on Mars in the future.
This project is open to any school in the UK. There is no cost to take part in the project other than that of experiment materials and postage.
In June 2019 we plan to launch over 100 experiment capsules on high altitude balloons 30km up into the Earth’s atmosphere, a place where conditions of gas pressure, temperature and radiation are very similar to the surface of Mars.
The Goal
The objectives of this schools project and the benefits to your class or club by participating are twofold:
- To give students practical experience of designing things to go into Space and visit other planets
- To get students to consider careers in the UK Space and other high tech industries
Important dates
February 2019: Announcement of 2019 launch opportunity
18th April 2019: Registration deadline
26th April 2019: Confirmation of experiment selection
24th May 2019: Deadline for experiment delivery
Early June 2019: Launch!
[Please note launch times are weather dependent]
What to expect
By registering your class or club to take part in MARSBalloon you will be reserving at least one experiment for a future flight. See the FAQs for more details on registration.
Please read the information pack which contains everything you need to know to get your students to make Mars experiments that can fly on our balloons, including:
- Information on exploring Mars and its surface environment
- A complete list of rules that experiments must satisfy to be allowed to fly
- Career advice for students who want to work in Space and related industries
- Ideas for experiments
Using the information pack your students can work to together to create Mars experiments, that fit inside a Kinder Egg capsule™, which you post to us so we can include them in the launch. Previous examples of experiments include testing the effect of Martian conditions on rubber bands, ink, memory sticks and 3D printed materials.
During the launch the balloon will ascend to 30km in approximately one hour where it will burst and the experiment tray will return to Earth via parachute. We will then collect the experiments and return them to your school for your students to analyse the results.
Pictures and video of your experiments in flight will be made available soon after landing.
You can also follow us on our Twitter page.
Flight Data
MarsBalloon 2018
MARSBalloon 2018 broke all previous records with over 120 experiments being launched and 45 different schools taking part across the UK. The 2018 mission brought the cumulative total of experiments launched by the MARSBalloon project to 500 over the previous 5 years.
The 2018 launch saw school children unleash their imaginations, sending in an ‘out-of-this-world’ selection of experiments that ranged from seeds, maple syrup, camera film, sea monkey eggs, slime and baby food, to glow sticks and human cheek cells. Each experiment tested an everyday item in ‘Mars-like’ conditions, and was available for analysis by the pupils, once the experiment tray parachuted back to Earth and the capsules were returned to their schools.
Firestar
Firestar, named after the ancient Chinese name for Mars, was the fifth MARSBalloon mission launched into the stratosphere at noon Wednesday the 17th June 2015. On board were 80 Mars science experiments from 42 primary and secondary schools from around the UK.
The balloon reached 31km altitude over a two hour flight where the experiments were exposed to temperatures as low as -50°C, pressures 1/100th that of sea level and increased levels of radiation all of which are very similar to the surface of Mars.
The 80 experiments launched on Firestar brought the total number of science experiments flown by MARSBalloon to over 350 over the course of three years. On this flight some of the standout experiments include tests of Mars-like conditions on Sheep’s eye balls, UV florescent slime, photochromic paper, smoke matches, magnesium ribbon, toothpaste, enzymes, algae, live plants, sea monkey eggs, antibiotics and several electronics sensors including light and UV.
You can see Firestar's flight below:
Elysium
Elysium, named after the second largest volcanic region on Mars, was launched on Sunday 26th October 2014.
The mission had 55 Mars science experiments on board from 33 UK primary and secondary schools. They were flown up in a specially built tray to 31,240m in altitude where the conditions of pressure, temperature and radiation are nearly identical to the surface of Mars. At maximum altitude the balloon burst and the tray and experiments descended by parachute to the ground for a landing in Bramshill Forest.
This launch follows a previous MARSBalloon mission, named Tharsis after another volcanic region of Mars, which successfully flew in June 2014 with 80 experiments from 30 schools.
The experiments recovered from Elysium were returned to the students who made them. They will be encouraged to write up their scientific results for publishing on the project website.
To see what happened on the ground watch the following video…
…now to see what happened in the air watch this:
This does not represent any form of commitment on behalf of the school but is required for us to send you important information about the flight. Participation in MARSBalloon does not require an entry fee.
Please note that if you are a UK school student who is interested in this project please get your favorite teacher to register for you. We are only allowed to talk to members of staff at your school.
In accordance with the UK data protection act this information will be used in the context of the MARSBalloon project only and will not be passed on to third parties or used for any other purpose.
