An equipment recovery mission is nearing completion after an international project studying deep mysteries of the sun concluded recently in the quiet Northwest Territories wilderness, away from civilization and to no local fanfare.
While the isolated subarctic tundra between the Mackenzie River and Great Bear Lake may seem an unlikely location to complete such a research mission, it was the chosen trajectory and destination for a 5.5-metric-tonne balloon-borne solar observatory carrying a one-metre-wide high-powered precision telescope and scientific instruments.
Because the sun doesn鈥檛 set at the Arctic Circle in the summertime, data can be collected around the clock, making it the ideal latitude for such a project.
Looking sunward
Named the Sunrise III, the floating observatory was a project led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Gottingen, Germany, and is the start of a worldwide coordinated sun observation campaign.
Solar physicist Dr. Andreas Korpi-Lagg, the Sunrise III project manager, said the balloon and its instrumentation were launched from the Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna, Sweden, to ensure it aligned with the planned Arctic Circle trajectory, as the balloon, filled with 1,050 kilograms of helium, has no propulsion system.
鈥淭he balloon rises there in Sweden, goes over Norway, and then over the Atlantic Ocean,鈥� Korpi-Lagg said.
鈥淭hen our balloon floated over Iceland, then Greenland, and then it entered Canada,鈥� he said of the journey that took 6.5 days before it landed west of Great Bear Lake, collecting data as it travelled.
UFO spotting
Coasting through the stratosphere at an altitude of about 37 kilometres, Korpi-Lagg said the observatory would have been easy to spot from Earth and, in fact, two reports of an unidentified flying object were documented at the time 鈥� one in Norway and one in Iceland.
Back in the operations centre in Germany, he said 40 scientists working in three around-the-clock shifts continuously operated the instruments on board the observatory and maintained communications with it as it floated across the summer sky.
鈥淚t was such a tremendous positive attitude in the operations centre. Everyone was highly motivated when it finally landed safely. We got a confirmation that it landed on land and didn't land in one of the many lakes in Canada, which could also have happened. That would have been catastrophic.
鈥淭hat (the landing) was such a big relief. The people who are now running these operations 鈥� most of them are scientists 鈥� they can't wait to get the data back to start working on it.鈥�
Third time鈥檚 a charm
This is the third such flight of the Sunrise series, Korpi-Lagg said, the first two being in 2009 and 2013. The first launch of Sunrise III in 2022 was not completed due to technical difficulties.
As one of three solar physicists, his work involves investigating the tiny processes that happen on the sun 鈥渆verywhere and all the time.鈥�
鈥淭he goal was to have instrumentation which observes the sun in all different wavelength regimes at the same time,鈥� he said.
The solar telescope 鈥� the largest one to ever leave the ground 鈥� peered into a 2,000-kilometre-thick layer of the sun that extends just below the star's visible surface.
Within that specific region, it's the interaction between the sun鈥檚 dynamic magnetic fields and hot plasma flows driving the sun鈥檚 activity that will be examined.
Measuring both that infrared and ultraviolet light at the same time allows the team to analyze the processes together, Korpi-Lagg said, adding they are very confident that their goal was achieved.
鈥淭he data quality we saw is expected to be excellent,鈥� he said of the preliminary analysis.
He added that this is primary research, not related to any commercial application of the results.
鈥淭he basic research we are doing鈥� will lead to much better space weather forecasting.鈥�
By measuring small-scale processes on the sun, he said it will 鈥渄eepen their understanding of how the sun really works鈥� and will ultimately influence climate research on Earth.
Recovery in pieces
The recovery mission involved team members from the Sunrise project and NASA, who flew into the site by helicopter from Norman Wells, according to Korpi-Lagg.
The equipment was then dismantled into small pieces, transported to Yellowknife and then stored into shipping containers for transport.
Korpi-Lagg said extracting the data from the disks should be completed in approximately six months, at which time the scientific analysis will begin, with the first results being published in scientific journals approximately a year from now.
鈥淭o fully exploit the datasets from the flight, we estimate that it keeps scientists busy for at least a decade,鈥� he said of the work involved in the data interpretation.
Mayor extends invitation
Norman Wells Mayor Frank Pope said while they were informed by NASA that the crew would be in town, the entire recovery operation was done very quietly.
鈥淚t was interesting how some people from NASA actually came into the community, so we knew it was going to be taking place. We offered any assistance they needed and did the best we could do,鈥� Pope said of the recovery mission.
Once the recovery of the apparatus was complete, Pope said the town gave them permission to bag the aluminum debris portion and store 17 bags of it in the Norman Wells landfill site for disposal.
The goal of the mission was very impressive, Pope said, especially in terms of the eventual climate research that will result from the data.
鈥淲e did ask them at one point if they would like to come in to the 鈥榃ells,鈥� and maybe give a presentation of what that's all about. So that invitation is going from myself to them very quickly to say, 鈥楬ey, guys, we helped you, so come in and maybe let this community know what you were doing, what it was all about and how important it is to science for the future,鈥� Pope said.
鈥淪o we're waiting to see if we get a response.鈥�
