SuperTIGER Ready to Fly Again in Study of Heavy Cosmic Rays

  • Released Wednesday, December 6, 2017
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SuperTIGER team members Brian Rauch, Jason Link and Nathan Walsh join NASA Blueshift's Sara Mitchell for a Skype conversation in November 2017 about the instrument's science, technology and upcoming launch from McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Complete transcript available.

Due to uncooperative weather in Antarctica, SuperTIGER was unable to launch during the 2017-18 balloon season. The team returned to the ice in November 2018, preparing for their first launch opportunity of the 2018-19 season!


Scientists in Antarctica are preparing to loft a NASA balloon-borne instrument to collect information on cosmic rays, high-energy particles from beyond the solar system that enter Earth's atmosphere every moment of every day. The instrument, called the Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER), is designed to study rare heavy nuclei, which hold clues about where and how cosmic rays attain speeds up to nearly the speed of light.

The most common cosmic ray particles are protons (hydrogen nuclei), making up roughly 90 percent, followed by helium nuclei (8 percent) and electrons (1 percent). The remainder contains the nuclei of other elements, with dwindling numbers of heavy nuclei as their masses rise. With SuperTIGER, researchers are looking for the rarest of the rare -- so-called ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei beyond iron, from cobalt to barium.

These elements are formed in some of the most extreme environments in the cosmos -- outflows from massive stars, supernova explosions, and mergers of neutron stars. Learning more about the distribution of the heavy cosmic rays will help astronomers further narrow down the places and processes forming them.

Explore this infographic to learn more about SuperTIGER, cosmic rays and scientific ballooning. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Explore this infographic to learn more about SuperTIGER, cosmic rays and scientific ballooning.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

When SuperTIGER’s balloon reaches its maximum altitude, near 130,000 feet (40,000 meters), its envelope has expanded to a diameter of 460 feet (140 meters) -- big enough to spin a football field in its center. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

When SuperTIGER’s balloon reaches its maximum altitude, near 130,000 feet (40,000 meters), its envelope has expanded to a diameter of 460 feet (140 meters) -- big enough to spin a football field in its center.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Cosmic rays are protons, electrons, and atomic nuclei traveling at up to nearly the speed of light originating from beyond the solar system. SuperTIGER seeks the heaviest nuclei, ranging from neon to barium, that make up less than 1 percent of the cosmic ray population. The distribution of these heavy nuclei enable scientists to hone ideas about where cosmic rays originate and how they’re boosted to high energies. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Cosmic rays are protons, electrons, and atomic nuclei traveling at up to nearly the speed of light originating from beyond the solar system. SuperTIGER seeks the heaviest nuclei, ranging from neon to barium, that make up less than 1 percent of the cosmic ray population. The distribution of these heavy nuclei enable scientists to hone ideas about where cosmic rays originate and how they’re boosted to high energies.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Launching balloons in Antarctica during the austral summer has two big advantages. A persistent high-pressure system forms a unique counterclockwise circulation called a polar vortex in the upper atmosphere above the continent. These upper-level winds guide balloons around the continent, letting scientists recover their instruments near the launch site once the mission concludes. Constant daylight during the Antarctic summer minimizes day-night temperature fluctuations, which is an important factor for long-duration flights. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Launching balloons in Antarctica during the austral summer has two big advantages. A persistent high-pressure system forms a unique counterclockwise circulation called a polar vortex in the upper atmosphere above the continent. These upper-level winds guide balloons around the continent, letting scientists recover their instruments near the launch site once the mission concludes. Constant daylight during the Antarctic summer minimizes day-night temperature fluctuations, which is an important factor for long-duration flights.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

The SuperTIGER instrument in Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in preparation for December 2017 launch opportunities. Credit: NASA/Jason Link

The SuperTIGER instrument in Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in preparation for December 2017 launch opportunities.

Credit: NASA/Jason Link

Brian Rauch (right), a Research Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and Washington University graduate student Nathan Walsh work on SuperTIGER in Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in preparation for December 2017 launch opportunities. Credit: NASA/Jason Link

Brian Rauch (right), a Research Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and Washington University graduate student Nathan Walsh work on SuperTIGER in Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in preparation for December 2017 launch opportunities.

Credit: NASA/Jason Link

On Dec. 1, 2017, SuperTIGER was brought onto the deck of Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to test communications in preparation for its second flight. Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth, appears in the background. Credit: NASA/Jason Link

On Dec. 1, 2017, SuperTIGER was brought onto the deck of Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to test communications in preparation for its second flight. Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth, appears in the background.

Credit: NASA/Jason Link

SuperTIGER rests on the deck of Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, during communications tests on Dec. 1, 2017, in preparation for its second flight. Credit: NASA/Jason Link

SuperTIGER rests on the deck of Payload Building 2 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, during communications tests on Dec. 1, 2017, in preparation for its second flight.

Credit: NASA/Jason Link

For More Information

See https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasas-supertiger-balloon-flies-again-to-study-heavy-cosmic-particles

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Wednesday, December 6, 2017.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:47 PM EDT.

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