Operation Icebridge Essay

NASA uses many different models of airplane in order to carry out scientific experiments. The airplane is a widely used vehicle for scientific instruments due it its ability to carry a wide range of scientific instruments. NASA has uses the P-3 and the D-8 scientific airplanes for many mission, one of which is Operation Icebridge. The goal of operation IceBridge is to “[use] a fleet of research aircraft, NASA’s Operation IceBridge images Earth's polar ice to better understand connections between polar regions and the global climate system”. In order to carry out such scientific experiments, scientific airplanes are equipped with many scientific instruments including laser altimeters, which are used to measure the changes in ice elevation
The laser altimeter, in the case of Operation IceBridge, is used to measure the ice elevation of the landmass that the aircraft is flying over. In order for a laser altimeter to be used on a super pressure balloon the weight and size of the instrument must be drastically reduced, continuing the trend of the need for much smaller and lighter equipment for use on super pressure balloons. The purpose of the altimeter would remain relatively the same, although the effectiveness of the instrument would be hampered. For one, scientific planes usually hold two different altimeters, one for low altitudes and one for medium altitudes, but due to the size and weight restrictions this would be impossible for a balloon to carry. Additionally, a major downside of the super pressure balloon is the inability for the researcher to control the altitude and direction of the aircraft, this lack of control would easily cause the super pressure balloon to drift away from the area that the researcher wants to study and fly too high for the altimeter to get an accurate reader. These complications further demonstrate the need for scientific planes as using purely super pressure balloons alone would cause many problems in the gathering of accurate data. Overall, the implementation of laser altimeter technology on a super pressure balloon would be
In order for the technologies of the gravimeter and the magnetometer to be used in a super pressure balloons, some modifications would have to be made. The magnetometer would remain relatively unchanged due to its small size and lightweight, allowing the balloon to easily carry it. The gravimeter, on the other hand, would have to somehow decreased in mass and volume in order to allow for the super pressure balloon to carry the technology, this would prove to be extremely difficult due to the size and complexity of even the newest gravimeters. The use of the magnetometer and gravimeter would remain relatively unchanged compared to the scientific airplane, although the same problems that degrade the efficiency of the laser altimeter would also effect the gravimeter and magnetometer. Overall, the attachment of small equipment like the magnetometer would be relatively easy and allow for the balloon to have advanced capabilities, but the massive weight and size of the gravimeter with the addition of the inherent problems with scientific balloons, the effectiveness of a scientific balloon equipped with these technologies would be seriously