ASCEND! Aerospace STEM Challenges to Educate New Discoverers

Each payload must contain an imaging component interfaced with a tracking device (altitude, latitude/longitude). In addition, atmospheric experiments may be determined by each university design team, depending upon goals determined in consultation with program mentors. Experiments may include gathering information to compare atmospheric layers, ozone, greenhouse gases, temperature/pressure/humidity, radiation, air quality, remote sensing and imaging, and more.

Additional and/or alternative innovative engineering or science projects, which are not related to an atmospheric study but which could benefit from the high altitude/low temperature environment (for example, testing the reliability of power cells under low temperature and low pressure conditions), are encouraged. These additional/alternative projects are subject to weight, size and cost restrictions determined for the project and the viability of the experiments in the extremes of the upper atmospheres, where temperatures drop to -60 or -70 °C and atmospheric pressures are nearly negligible.

• Building a light-weight, mechanically and thermally stable container for the experiments.
• Correlating the data from your design package with the standard ANSR launch package (i.e., at a minimum, your data/experiment must have a clock/timestamp that is synchronized with the ANSR clock) to allow correlation of the images and any atmospheric data with altitude and geographic location with appropriate timing circuits and self-contained power supplies to drive all components of the package.
• It is also desirable for your team to monitor and record telemetry for the balloon payload.

All costs (within a specified budget) will be provided for the project. Each semester, teams will congregate in central Arizona for Friday evening pre-launch training workshops followed by Saturday launch and chase-down activities.

Teams will have opportunities to discuss their ASCEND design with representatives from our ANSR launch providers and teams from other participating universities several times throughout the semester during monthly telecons.  During these meetings, participants may ask questions, share experiences, and present their ideas for peer response.

In April, at the end of each program year, team members will present the results of their year's ASCEND! research and development projects at the statewide Arizona NASA Student Research Symposium in a session devoted to high altitude balloon science.