Astrobiology:
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2000-09-04 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Balloons may explore Mars
According a space.com news report, Engineers in Colorado have successfully tested a technology that may one day enable balloons to explore Mars.
The balloons would drift over the surface, returning detailed images of the Martian topography, and covering much more territory than a rover could.
The balloons' compact size when uninflated would permit dozens to be released during a single mission. Or, a balloon could ride "piggyback" to Mars aboard another mission, such as a Mars lander.
The new technology enables balloons to inflate themselves using only available sunlight. Engineers tested the technology at an altitude of 100,000 feet, where Earth's thin atmosphere resembles that at the surface Mars (the uninflated balloon was carried into the sky by a second balloon).
The balloons would remain aloft for a Martian day, touching down once the sun set. NASA is also testing a balloon that could remain airborne for 300 days.
Full text of original item
from space.com, Sep 04, 2000
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