NASA's scientific balloon carrying the GUSTO mission takes flight from Antarctica

NASA's Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO), a scientific balloon carrying a telescope with carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen emission line detectors to measure emissions from the interstellar medium, the cosmic material found between stars, successfully launched from Antarctica on Sunday, December 31.

The Long-Duration Balloon is currently flying 128,000 feet above the Earth's surface and is expected to stay in the air for more than 55 days, depending on weather conditions.

Data collected by the GUSTO mission will help scientists determine the life cycle of interstellar gas in our Milky Way galaxy, witness the formation and destruction of star-forming clouds, and understand the dynamics and gas flow in the vicinity of the center of our galaxy.

In addition, NASA's GUSTO telescope will also reveal the 3D structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy near our Milky Way. The LMC resembles some of the galaxies of the early universe that the James Webb Space Telescope is exploring. However, LMC's proximity to Earth compared to the distant early galaxies allows scientists to examine it more closely and in greater detail using GUSTO.

"With GUSTO, we're really trying to trailblaze. We want to show that balloon investigations do return compelling science," says Kieran Hegarty, Program Manager for GUSTO at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

Mucho GUSTO! A scientific balloon carrying the GUSTO mission took flight from Antarctica Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. local time (Dec. 31, 1:30 a.m EST). The balloon is floating 128,000 feet above Earth’s surface. Track the balloon in real-time: https://t.co/8GFksvncQr pic.twitter.com/AF72Zeje2f

— NASA Wallops (@NASAWallops) December 31, 2023