On March 20, 2024, the physics class of the European School Bornheim sent a weather balloon into the stratosphere under the supervision of teacher Achim Kittelmann. Two fellows, Jana Pöhler and Marvin Gehrke, from the Netzwerk Teilchenwelt in Bonn were part of the project. In addition to cameras, personal letters, and the school mascot, the balloon also carried professional measurement technology. Air pressure, temperature, humidity, GPS position, and ionizing radiation were measured.
Some of the measurement technology was provided by the Netzwerk Teilchenwelt at the University of Bonn. Two Cosmic Watches, which were built by the participating students of the MINT-EC Camp in 2023, measured the properties of cosmic radiation during the flight. The direction, particle flux and energy of the incident cosmic radiation were detected. This will provide answers to the question of how cosmic radiation changes with altitude.
The weather balloon, complete with probe and measuring equipment, was successfully launched accompanied by the Press and the entire school and rose to over 40 km. About 100 km from the launch site, the probe landed safely with a parachute, where it was located and collected by pupils using GPS. Now the collected data is being analyzed by the students. We are looking forward to the results and findings and congratulate everyone involved on the success of the project.
