Episode V: MARSBalloon strikes back

In a field not so far, far away (just down the M4, near Bristol), the MARSBalloon team are gearing up to launch their next, as yet unnamed, mission.

Now preparing for its fifth flight, MARSBalloon asks primary and secondary school students to submit science experiments that are then flown 30 kilometres up into Earth’s atmosphere on a high altitude balloon. At this altitude, conditions are similar to those on the surface of Mars and can rapidly degrade materials, damage electronics and sterilise organics.

The aim of the mission is to find out how humans and everyday objects would cope in such a harsh environment. Students have been set the challenge of creating experiments which would test anything that humans might want to take or do on Mars in the future.

Each experiment must fit inside a Kinder Surprise™ toy capsule which sits on a special tray beneath the balloon to maximise its exposure to the hostile environment.

With only a couple of weeks to go, students now have the opportunity to name the mission! To submit an idea for the balloon’s name (which must have something to do with Mars), schools should tweet a Vine or short video of their suggestion to @marsballoon. There's also still time to submit experiments - visit the MARSBalloon website to find out how.

MARSBalloon is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) outreach project devised and managed by three young engineers from Thales Alenia Space UK. This unique programme gives schoolchildren the opportunity to learn about space science and how they could become one of the 70,000 new space engineers, operators and scientists needed in the next 15 years to continue the vital work that space science and satellites do for our world, helping the UK Government achieve its target of quadrupling the UK space industry by 2030.

To find out more about the launch and to get your class/group involved, visit the MARSBalloon website. And watch the video below to see how the MARSBalloon team got on with their last flight, Elysium.