Aera Blog
This is the year2016 has a lot in store for the Aera Project. With our microbe retrieval chamber (MRC) design finalized, production is slated to begin in Mid-February. After three to four weeks of testing and experiments, the Aera Project will have four MRCs ready for launch.
We have two missions slated for Spring 2016, one in May and the other in June. Both will be equipped with our MRCs and two GoPros. Each MRC will test a pre-selected altitude triggered by an automatic barometer/GPS unit. Ideally, we will be testing altitudes up to 100,000 feet. At such a high altitude, with conditions that would kill almost all surface life, these atmospheric microbes will need to be extremely hardy, adapted to freezing conditions and extreme concentrations of UV light. As the Ozone layer is around 50,000 feet below them, they are constantly bombarded with UV-C light, an extremely dangerous form of ultraviolet. The missions will hopefully yield microbes for us to study and understand their characteristics. The goal is to unravel exactly how these microbes can live in such a harsh ecosystem -- bettering our understanding of microbiological evolution and the scope of where life can live. 2016 is going to be a packed year, full of new missions, research, and discoveries, and we can't wait!
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Because we are a high school group, our senior members graduate. As several of our members go onto college, the Aera Project is looking for new members! Anyone can join, so long as they attend Ridgefield High School and meet our requirements.
If interested, please contact us and answer these questions: 1. Why are you interested in joining the Project? 2. What will you bring to the Project? 3. If you could develop a scientific program, that utilizes our values, what would it be and how would you initiate it? 4. Do you have any particular skills that pertain to aerospace, math, general sciences, or marketing? Thanks again and hope to see you onboard! After two aborts for AM-3e, the Aera Project is prepping once again for its third launch attempt! We are aiming for May 23rd as our launch day. Unlike the previous operations, which suffered technological failures with the GPS and camera systems, AM-3e will only carry one camera: The Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera. For those of you who aren't similar with Black Magic Design, we highly recommend you check them out! They are a small company that focuses on the highest quality recording and editing equipment on the market. They have a wide array of cameras, such as the Pocket Cinema Camera, each serving a particular purpose. Nonetheless, they are all equally well built and shoot tremendously articulate footage!
The AM-3e/Launch 3 Attempt will also carry some scientific data recording using Arduino systems. It will gather weather data that will be integrated into 4r. More to come! Stay tuned! We are excited to announce AM-3e will carry a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera!
What is a BMPCC you ask? A BMPCC is a revolutionary camera that enables filmmakers to capture quality footage with a camera that can literally fit into your pocket. The camera can take footage in Full CinemaDNG RAW, which enables us to get the best possible footage of Earth. No private balloon mission has ever sent a camera this powerful into the atmosphere, and we look forward to using it to capture the morning on the Eastern Sea board of the US! Want more information? Here is a link to the companies website: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera Welcome to our new page! The Aera Project has been hard at work trying to update their social media platforms, and our website is a top priority. This blog will cover all updates on the project's status and will be the place where Aera members can communicate with our fans!
On this blog, we will frequently add events, news, seminar times, and other program times and locations, as well as launch updates and photos we aim to release in early 2015. We will also provide science news regarding biology, aerospace and astronomy. Stay tuned! The next year is going to be fascinating, and we want to share it with you. Thanks, The Aera Team |
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February 2016
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