New stratospheric balloon experiments launched in Timmins
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is back in Timmins launching stratospheric balloons to collect data about our atmosphere.
Working with France's space agency and scientists from around the world, officials said these launches can teach us about greenhouse gases and provide other scientific information.
Phillipe Vincent, the mission manager for the CSA's stratospheric balloon program, told CTV News every launch reveals more about our planet and improves how the world's space agencies operate in earth's upper atmosphere.
And this year makes it a decade that northern Ontario has been hosting these experiments.
"Scientists are eager to get data from everywhere in the world. They want to fly often, they don't just want to fly once. They want to compare data, see the evolution," Vincent said.
Around 90 scientists from around the world are in the city working on four balloon launches for this year's 'strata' campaign -- each carrying different payloads and collecting a variety of data.
France's balloons carry about one tonne of technology, including an Italian telescope built to look at the sun and different types of solar sensors that could be installed on a satellite.
A Canadian team is working on a smaller balloon, testing equipment that monitors greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere and emissions coming from the ground level.
Adam Bourassa is a physics professor at the University of Saskatchewan who is involved in the project.
"The balloon can actually take the instrumentation really high in the atmosphere. Much, much higher than an airplane, way above the ozone layer. So, even on a beautiful, blue-sky day like this, the balloon goes so high, it's up in the blackness of space," Bourassa said.
"It does give you an environment that's very much like what it would be like to be on a satellite."
Adding, the instruments can eventually be used to monitor the change in certain greenhouse gas levels over time, potentially helping scientists monitor how those changes affect the planet.
"CO2 and methane are both gases that are important in the causes of climate change and the pollution layers that we look at above the clouds also have impacts on how clouds form and how clouds last and are also important factors in understanding our climate," Bourassa said.
The balloons can house technology from several teams of scientists running various experiments and the CSA is looking forward to welcoming more scientists over the coming decade as it expands the base with a multi-million-dollar facility.
"Maybe welcome other partners and new companies that would like to come test here, their experiments and technologies," Vincent said.
Locals can see balloons floating through the sky at any time of day, depending on the conditions scientists need for their experiments.
Scientists can also guide each balloon's landing, which can sometimes be within the province or even elsewhere in the country.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.