{"id":489016,"date":"2023-08-07T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?post_type=migration&p=489016"},"modified":"2023-08-14T19:19:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T23:19:48","slug":"nasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s ComPair Balloon Mission Readies for Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A team in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, is preparing to fly a balloon-borne science instrument called ComPair, which will test new technologies for detecting gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ComPair is slated to fly early in NASA\u2019s 2023 fall <a class=\"fui-Link ___1eya986 f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/scientificballoons\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/scientificballoons\">scientific balloon<\/a> campaign, which opens on Thursday, Aug. 10, weather permitting.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"985\" height=\"1275\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?w=985\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"An infographic showing details about the ComPair instrument.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png 985w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=232,300 232w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=768,994 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=791,1024 791w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=309,400 309w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=464,600 464w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=695,900 695w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-infographc-mkxi.png?resize=927,1200 927w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 985px) 100vw, 985px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Explore this infographic to learn more about ComPair and scientific ballooning.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cLots of interesting science happens in the energy range that ComPair is designed to study,\u201d said Nicholas Kirschner, a graduate student at George Washington University in Washington and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland, who works on the mission. \u201cThese gamma rays are hard to capture with existing methods, so we need to create and test new ones. ComPair\u2019s flight gets us one step closer to putting a similar detector in space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ComPair detects gamma rays with energies between 200,000 and 20 million electron volts. Visible light\u2019s energy falls between 2 and 3 electron volts, for comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/universe.nasa.gov\/stars\/basics\/#otp_death\" rel=\"noopener\">Supernovae<\/a> and powerful explosions called gamma-ray bursts shine the brightest in this energy range. It\u2019s also where astronomers expect to see the strongest glow from the most massive and distant <a href=\"https:\/\/universe.nasa.gov\/galaxies\/types\/#otp_active_galaxies\" rel=\"noopener\">active galaxies<\/a>, which are powered by monster black holes. Current missions don\u2019t cover this range well, however, so future ComPair-inspired instruments could fill in important gaps in astronomers\u2019 knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earth\u2019s atmosphere filters out most of the high-energy radiation coming from space \u2013 which is good for humans but makes testing new gamma-ray technologies challenging. ComPair\u2019s solution is to fly to about 133,000 feet (40,000 meters) on a scientific balloon, which brings it above 99.5% of the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2023\/nasa-s-compair-gamma-ray-hunting-mission-prepares-for-balloon-flight\" rel=\"noopener\">building and testing<\/a> ComPair at Goddard, the mission team shipped it to Fort Sumner. There, they unpacked, reassembled, and recalibrated the instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ComPair will piggyback with another mission, called GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment), led by the University of New Hampshire. After ComPair and GRAPE are on the gondola, the framework that will attach to the scientific balloon, the teams can prepare for launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ComPair gets its name from two methods it uses to study gamma rays: Compton scattering and pair production. In Compton scattering, light hits a particle, such as an electron, and transfers some energy to it. Pair production occurs when a gamma ray grazes the nucleus of an atom and converts into a pair of particles \u2013 an electron and its antimatter counterpart, a positron.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1365\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?w=1365\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg 1824w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=768,1152 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=683,1024 683w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=1024,1536 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=1365,2048 1365w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=267,400 267w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=400,600 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=600,900 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=800,1200 800w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?resize=1333,2000 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">ComPair principal investigator Carolyn Kierans (NASA, left) and the University of Maryland Baltimore county\u2019s Janeth Valverde Quispe (right) and Nicholas Cannady (back) work on ComPair ahead of thermal vacuum testing at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in this photograph. They are connecting the instrument via cable to power systems and the onboard computer. Once inside the chamber, ComPair experienced conditions similar to those found at balloon altitudes.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA\/Scott Wiessinger<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cGamma rays are too high-energy for a traditional telescope to detect \u2013 the light flies right between the mirror\u2019s atoms,\u201d said Regina Caputo, ComPair project manager at Goddard. \u201cInstead, our instrument uses layers of different kinds of elements and compounds stacked on top of each other. As gamma rays pass through the instrument, they interact with different layers depending on their energies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The instrument has four major components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A tracker containing 10 layers of silicon detectors that determines the position of incoming gamma rays.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A high-resolution calorimeter made of cadmium, zinc, and telluride that precisely measures lower-energy Compton-scattered gamma rays and some converted into electron-positron pairs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A high-energy calorimeter made of cesium iodide that mostly measures electron-positron pairs as well as some Compton-scattered gamma rays.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An anticoincidence detector that notes the entry of high-energy charged particles called <a href=\"https:\/\/universe.nasa.gov\/exploration\/sensing-the-universe\/#otp_particles\" rel=\"noopener\">cosmic rays<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCosmic rays are everywhere in the universe \u2013 large numbers collide with every part of Earth\u2019s atmosphere every moment of every day. They also run into spacecraft, including gamma-ray missions\u201d said Richard Woolf, a research physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington. \u201cBecause they\u2019re charged, cosmic rays can trip gamma-ray detectors, including future ComPair-inspired ones. So, we need anticoincidence detectors to filter them out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ComPair is a collaboration among Goddard, NRL, Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s scientific balloons offer frequent, low-cost access to near-space to conduct scientific investigations and technology maturation in fields such as astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric research, as well as training for the next generation of leaders in engineering and science. To follow the missions in the 2023 Fort Sumner fall campaign, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csbf.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) website<\/a> for real-time updates of a balloon\u2019s altitude and GPS location during flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency\u2019s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates CSBF in Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services, and field operations for NASA\u2019s scientific balloon program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations. NASA\u2019s balloons are fabricated by Aerostar. The NASA Scientific Balloon Program is funded by the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/svs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/14372\" rel=\"noopener\">Download high-resolution video and images from NASA\u2019s Scientific Visualization Studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By <a href=\"mailto:jeanette.science.kaz@gmail.com?subject=NASA%E2%80%99s%20ComPair%20Balloon%20Mission%20Readies%20for%20Flight\">Jeanette Kazmierczak<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Media Contacts:<br><a href=\"mailto:claire.andreoli@nasa.gov?subject=NASA%E2%80%99s%20ComPair%20Balloon%20Mission%20Readies%20for%20Flight\">Claire Andreoli<\/a><br>NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"mailto:jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov?subject=NASA%E2%80%99s%20ComPair%20Balloon%20Mission%20Readies%20for%20Flight\">Jeremy Eggers<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/wallops\/home\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility<\/a>, Wallops Island, Va.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 article_a hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-credits-and-details\">\n<section class=\"padding-x-0 padding-top-5 padding-bottom-2 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\">\n\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-2 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-14\">Share<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"social-icons social-icons-round\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-x\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?via=NASA&text=NASA%E2%80%99s%20ComPair%20Balloon%20Mission%20Readies%20for%20Flight&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Funiverse%2Fnasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on X.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"1200\" height=\"1227\" viewBox=\"0 0 1200 1227\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z\" fill=\"white\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-facebook\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Funiverse%2Fnasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M9 8h-3v4h3v12h5v-12h3.642l.358-4h-4v-1.667c0-.955.192-1.333 1.115-1.333h2.885v-5h-3.808c-3.596 0-5.192 1.583-5.192 4.615v3.385z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-linkedin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Funiverse%2Fnasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M4.98 3.5c0 1.381-1.11 2.5-2.48 2.5s-2.48-1.119-2.48-2.5c0-1.38 1.11-2.5 2.48-2.5s2.48 1.12 2.48 2.5zm.02 4.5h-5v16h5v-16zm7.982 0h-4.968v16h4.969v-8.399c0-4.67 6.029-5.052 6.029 0v8.399h4.988v-10.131c0-7.88-8.922-7.593-11.018-3.714v-2.155z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-rss\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/feed\/\" aria-label=\"Subscribe to RSS feed.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 800 800\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M493 652H392c0-134-111-244-244-244V307c189 0 345 156 345 345zm71 0c0-228-188-416-416-416V132c285 0 520 235 520 520z\"\/><circle cx=\"219\" cy=\"581\" r=\"71\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-14\">Details<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row margin-bottom-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subheading\">Last Updated<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-8\">Aug 14, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\"><div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black \"><div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"><h2 class=\"heading-14\">Related Terms<\/h2><\/div><ul class=\"article-tags\"><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/galaxies\/active-galaxies\/\">Active Galaxies<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/astrophysics\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Astrophysics<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/ems\/12_gammarays\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Gamma Rays<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/science-research\/astrophysics\/gamma-ray-bursts\/\">Gamma-Ray Bursts<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\/\">Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Science & Research<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/science-instruments\/\">Science Instruments<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/scientific-balloons\/\">Scientific Balloons<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/stars\/supernovae\/\">Supernovae<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/universe\/\" rel=\"noopener\">The Universe<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A team in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, is preparing to fly a balloon-borne science instrument called ComPair, which will test new technologies for detecting gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. ComPair is slated to fly early in NASA\u2019s 2023 fall scientific balloon campaign, which opens on Thursday, Aug. 10, weather permitting. \u201cLots of interesting [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":489454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11342,2836,9476,12213,2857,2662,2831,11402,11336,2659],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[4215,6313,3913,10837,4212],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA\u2019s ComPair Balloon Mission Readies for Flight","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg"},"articleSection":"The Universe","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeanette Kazmierczak"}],"creator":["Jeanette Kazmierczak"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["The Universe","Active Galaxies","Astrophysics","Gamma Rays","Gamma-Ray Bursts","Goddard Space Flight Center","Science & Research","Science Instruments","Scientific Balloons","Supernovae"],"dateCreated":"2023-08-07T19:00:00Z","datePublished":"2023-08-07T19:00:00Z","dateModified":"2023-08-14T23:19:48Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA\u2019s ComPair Balloon Mission Readies for Flight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasas-compair-balloon-mission-readies-for-flight\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2023-08-07T19:00:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"The Universe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"The Universe,Active Galaxies,Astrophysics,Gamma Rays,Gamma-Ray Bursts,Goddard Space Flight Center,Science & Research,Science Instruments,Scientific Balloons,Supernovae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Jeanette Kazmierczak\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":5,"time_ago":"11 months","featured_image":{"id":489454,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/compair-tvac-img-2248-half.jpg","title":"compair-tvac-img-2248-half","alt":"","caption":"ComPair principal investigator Carolyn Kierans (NASA, left) and the University of Maryland Baltimore county\u2019s Janeth Valverde Quispe (right) and Nicholas Cannady (back) work on ComPair ahead of thermal vacuum testing at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in this photograph. They are connecting the instrument via cable to power systems and the onboard computer. Once inside the chamber, ComPair experienced conditions similar to those found at balloon altitudes."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489456,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489016\/revisions\/489456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489016"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=489016"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=489016"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=489016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}