The researchers, members of the LSU Department of Physics and Astronomy, conducted their Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter Scientific Balloon Experiment, better known as the ATIC experiment, to learn how cosmic rays are powered. However, much like the contestants on the hit TV show, the LSU team had to undergo medical tests before being allowed to make the trip. Then they flew to McMurdo in a military cargo plane and got a crash course in survival training. For a group of Louisianians used to heat, humidity and swamps, the ice and mountains of Antarctica were a challenge. The project's goal was to collect data from outer space that would identify the energy levels of cosmic rays.
Cosmic rays are atomic nuclei that move through the galaxy at almost the speed of light.
These particles contain extremely high levels of energy, which most scientists previously attributed to supernovae, or exploding stars. However, further studies of supernovae and cosmic rays have led to some doubt about this theory. Scientists are now finding discrepancies between the levels of energy they believe are being created by supernovae and the levels of energy in cosmic rays. It is not certain that there are enough supernova explosions to power all of the galaxy's cosmic rays. It could be that there is another, possibly unknown, phenomenon powering cosmic rays.