A NASA balloon which was launched from Wānaka Airport in mid-April has touched down in Argentina. 

Carrying a Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) payload, the balloon completed a record five full circuits of the globe during its 39 days and 14 hours in flight.

“This flight was, bar none, our best to date with the balloon flying nominally in the stratosphere and maintaining a stable float altitude,” NASA balloon programme office chief Debbie Fairbrother said. 

NASA balloon operators sent flight termination commands yesterday morning (Thursday May 25) after identifying a safe landing area in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province.

The 532,000-cubic-meter balloon then separated from the payload, rapidly deflating, and the payload floated safely to the ground on a parachute.

The balloon’s payload landed safely in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina yesterday morning. IMAGE: NASA

The balloon’s land crossing created an opportunity to safely conclude the flight as the predicted flight path would have taken it further south with little exposure to sunlight, which would have created risks in maintaining the balloon’s solar-panel charged power systems.

Recovery of the payload and balloon is in progress, Debbie said.

“I could not be prouder of the team for conducting a safe and successful flight, and the science returns from SuperBIT have been nothing short of amazing,” she said.

“Achieving long-duration balloon flight through day and night conditions is an important goal for our program and the science community, and this flight has moved the needle significantly in validating and qualifying the balloon technology.”