Glasgow Uni reaches for the stars with balloon

A TEAM of students at Glasgow University sent a high-altitude balloon in the air as they competed for an international science prize.

A photo taken from the Anemoi Project high-altitude balloon. Picture: Adrienne Macartney/Facebook

The Anemoi project, conducted by a team of eight and led by PhD student Adrienne Macartney, took place in the skies above Kingussie as the balloon was dispatched at a height of up to 30,000 metres for a two-hour period.

Photographs taken by the unit attached to the balloon – a meteorite contamination measurement device – show the balloon rising towards space. Students tasked with gathering the balloon walked 22km to collect it.

The Glasgow University team is one of 259 across 47 countries competing in the Global Space Balloon Challenge.

A photo taken from the Anemoi Project high-altitude balloon. Picture: Adrienne Macartney/Facebook

Ms Macartney said: “We launched from Kingussie High School at noon with a meteorite contamination experiment onboard, landed at 2pm, drove to the nearest access to landing site by 5pm and had a beautiful walk for 22km to recover the payload, with sunset over snow-capped mountains. It was a great day!”