November 1988
From The Space Library
“Mission to Mars” article appears in National Geographic Magazine
NASA launched two heavy-lift balloons from Australia in November to continue scientific studies of Supernova 1987a. A 28.4 million cubic foot balloon was scheduled to carry a scientific experiment, weighing 1,100 pounds, to measure gamma-ray and hard x-ray emissions. A second, 29.47 million cubic foot balloon also was scheduled to carry a scientific experiment, weighing 3,700 pounds, that would measure gamma-ray emissions, but over a different energy band. These scientific missions were part of the overall NASA Balloon Program managed by the Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia. (NASA Release 88-154; MSFC Release 88-160)
NASA deployed the C-141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), to observe Supernova 1987a. KAO completed a five-week deployment to New Zealand to conduct high altitude observations of charged particle and heavy metals emissions produced in the explosion of the giant blue star, first detected in February 1987. The November 1988 mission found nickel, argon, and iron exploding outward at 868 miles per second. Previous Kuiper observations of the expanding ejected cloud had greatly contributed to understanding how the explosion proceeds. KAO Supernova 1987a research was being conducted by the Astrophysics Branch, Space Science Division, Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California. (NASA Release 88-168; ARC Release 88-89).
- October
- November
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