SEEDS IN SPACE: One of our students will be sending up seeds on the mission to test if low-pressure, high-altitude conditions have any effects on germination and growth.
SOLAR AND COSMIC RADIATION: Because of all the support we've received, we've decided to add a high-tech digital radiation meter to our launch to collect data on radiation exposure outside our atmosphere. We should bring back some very interesting results.
WE'RE GOING TO STATE!! Two students from the Boonville Space Program put together a fantastic project based on our past two launches, entered the County Science Fair and took First Place. Now we're going to compete in the State Science Fair in Los Angeles. The trip has been generously funded by the Anderson Valley Education Foundation.
Our mission: send three small spacecraft, lifted by weather balloons, up into the stratosphere on May 20, 2012 to capture high-definition images, 3D video and scientific data during the next Annular Solar Eclipse. The crafts will pass directly through the path of the eclipse in Northern California and be recovered using GPS tracking devices.
In 2011, a group of junior high students from a small town in Northern California successfully launched a weather balloon and camera up into the stratosphere and brought back video from 22 kilometers above the earth's surface. At this altitude the earth's atmosphere thins to a fraction of its density and the blue gives way to the blackness of space. The craft was successfully recovered with video and valuable temperature data. A full movie of the initial project can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lml2Td_mhKM.
After this overwhelming success, we have decided to take our project to the next level. Our plan is to launch 3 crafts equipped with high-definition cameras and scientific equipment to directly coincide with the Annular Solar Eclipse that will occur on Sunday, May 20, 2012. Our goal is to bring back images, video and data to study this rare event. We would like to use this opportunity to educate our school and community about our natural world through an appreciation of space science. The next solar eclipse in our area will not occur until 2017, so this is a rare opportunity.
These funds will be used to purchase a variety of scientific and media equipment, balloons, parachutes, GPS tracking devices and more. For more information on the specifics of our budget and project, visit www.boonvillespaceprogram.org.
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