LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — UNLV engineering students plan to launch a balloon on Oct. 14 to capture "valuable engineering data" during upcoming solar eclipses.
"The last time the moon blocked out the sun in 2017, the skies above Las Vegas were covered in clouds, and rain poured down across the Valley," said officials with the university. "A rare celestial event obscured by an unlikely weather phenomenon for a desert city and its inhabitants."
The balloon launch is part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Reno is also participating in the NEBP, according to a media release.
"The team doesn't want to fly blind," a media release said. "The team hopes the weather won't damper the months-long project."
Sunday, UNLV and UNR students simulated a balloon launch ahead of the solar eclipses. Officials say the balloon carries a 12-pound payload and live-streaming cameras 100,000 feet into the atmosphere. The launch is to help ensure communication with the ground station.
"The team also hopes to achieve neutral buoyancy," UNLV officials said. "Which means that once the balloon reaches a predetermined altitude, it floats there without climbing any higher."
The first launch will occur on Oct. 14, when portions of North America, including northern Nevada, will experience an annular solar eclipse, a precursor to the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
"The UNLV team will be one of a few stationed in Winnemucca, Nevada, as the northern Nevada town serves as a prime viewing location for the annular eclipse," officials said. "For the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, UNLV students will have to travel a little farther to launch their balloon and accompanying payload, which will include additional experiments that the team will develop over the next several months."
Officials say the resulting data will be analyzed and made publicly available.
NEBP supported studies during eclipses in 2017, 2019 and 2020 since its start in 2014.
