The HERMES payload, funded by ASI with the scientific collaboration of INGV, was recently launched with the aim of carrying out the first test for collecting scientific data from the stratosphere and transferring it to the ground by means of a vector
The Italian payload HERMES (HEmera Returning MESSenger), project financed and coordinated byItalian Space Agency (ASI) and whose scientific director is theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), was launched at altitude via one Zero Pressure Balloon last July 21 at the Esrange space base (Kiruna, Sweden) by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).
“A payload is, literally, a 'payload' of scientific instrumentation that is found on board any vehicle, even space, in our case a gondola transported by a balloon that can reach a state of floating at stratospheric altitudes”, explains Alessandro Iarocci, technologist of the New Technologies and Instruments Laboratory (LNTS) of INGV and scientific referent of the Institute for HERMES. "The gondola, specifically, is the mechanical structure that houses the scientific instruments on board and all the electronic equipment necessary for tracking, communications to the ground, trim and housekeeping data recordings".
The launch of HERMES is part of the European project HEMERA, born with the aim of improving and coordinating scientific activities aimed at creating a shared and interoperable technical-scientific platform where it is possible to conduct experiments, at sub-orbital altitudes, transported by stratospheric balloons.
HEMERA is coordinated by French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and see the collaboration of 13 international organizations.
"HERMES is a payload equipped with an autonomous glider capable of 'physically' transporting scientific data, stored in a solid-state memory, from the stratospheric platform to a recovery point on the ground", continues Iarocci. “This is important for many experiments at altitude and in polar areas which produce huge amounts of data that are impossible to transfer with currently available satellite connections. In this way the scientific data would be recovered even if the experiment were to be lost or could not be completed. Furthermore, the glider is also capable of carrying test tubes on board for sampling in the stratosphere".
Two were organized within the HEMERA project call for proposals aimed at selecting the best scientific experiments to offer the possibility of a free balloon flight. The tenders have made it possible to highlight the fervent activity and the high value of the proposals of the Italian scientific community, which participated with the largest number of proposals and, proportionally, had the largest number of selected experiments.
"The launch of HERMES is important news for INGV because it would allow the scientific community to have the data of an experiment acquired at stratospheric altitudes available without waiting for the recovery of the payload itself, or as a verification of the correct functioning of the on-board equipment and of the data acquired if the local visual telemetry was no longer sufficient to transfer large amounts of data to the ground. This aspect is particularly significant for winter or long-duration polar missions”, adds Massimiliano Vallocchia, of the LNTS Laboratory of INGV.
"The next step goes in the direction of equipping a stratospheric payload of long-lasting experiments (of the order of a few months) with more gliders: this would increase the redundancy of the system and would allow the experiment data to be usable even before its conclusion ”, concludes Vallocchia.
The Italian payload HERMES (HEmera Returning MESSenger), project financed and coordinated byItalian Space Agency (ASI) and whose scientific director is theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), was launched at altitude via one Zero Pressure Balloon last July 21 at the Esrange space base (Kiruna, Sweden) by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).
“A payload is, literally, a 'payload' of scientific instrumentation that is found on board any vehicle, even space, in our case a gondola transported by a balloon that can reach a state of floating at stratospheric altitudes”, explains Alessandro Iarocci, technologist of the New Technologies and Instruments Laboratory (LNTS) of INGV and scientific referent of the Institute for HERMES. "The gondola, specifically, is the mechanical structure that houses the scientific instruments on board and all the electronic equipment necessary for tracking, communications to the ground, trim and housekeeping data recordings".
The launch of HERMES is part of the European project HEMERA, born with the aim of improving and coordinating scientific activities aimed at creating a shared and interoperable technical-scientific platform where it is possible to conduct experiments, at sub-orbital altitudes, transported by stratospheric balloons.
HEMERA is coordinated by French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and see the collaboration of 13 international organizations.
"HERMES is a payload equipped with an autonomous glider capable of 'physically' transporting scientific data, stored in a solid-state memory, from the stratospheric platform to a recovery point on the ground", continues Iarocci. “This is important for many experiments at altitude and in polar areas which produce huge amounts of data that are impossible to transfer with currently available satellite connections. In this way the scientific data would be recovered even if the experiment were to be lost or could not be completed. Furthermore, the glider is also capable of carrying test tubes on board for sampling in the stratosphere".
Two were organized within the HEMERA project call for proposals aimed at selecting the best scientific experiments to offer the possibility of a free balloon flight. The tenders have made it possible to highlight the fervent activity and the high value of the proposals of the Italian scientific community, which participated with the largest number of proposals and, proportionally, had the largest number of selected experiments.
"The launch of HERMES is important news for INGV because it would allow the scientific community to have the data of an experiment acquired at stratospheric altitudes available without waiting for the recovery of the payload itself, or as a verification of the correct functioning of the on-board equipment and of the data acquired if the local visual telemetry was no longer sufficient to transfer large amounts of data to the ground. This aspect is particularly significant for winter or long-duration polar missions”, adds Massimiliano Vallocchia, of the LNTS Laboratory of INGV.
"The next step goes in the direction of equipping a stratospheric payload of long-lasting experiments (of the order of a few months) with more gliders: this would increase the redundancy of the system and would allow the experiment data to be usable even before its conclusion ”, concludes Vallocchia.
