Wanka - a mission to measure stratospheric aerosols concentration using low-cost commercial sensors onboard a high-altitude balloon

Tintaya R.; Marrufo J.; Salazar M.; Arrustico D.; Davila A.; Rosadio G.; Taipe L.; Muñoz M.; Esquiembre A.; Baca G.; Huanca D.; Fajardo G.; Morales M.; Suarez-Salas L. · Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC (2022)

Resumen

Interest in stratospheric aerosols has grown during the last decades, mainly because of their increase and their potential applications to control global warming, as they can scatter the radiation that enters the planet. However, there is uncertainty about their concentration and effects they cause, due to their high spatial and temporal variability, and physical and chemical processes to which they are exposed. In situ measurements can be performed by university students using a High-Altitude Balloon; however, many institutions do not have the equipment necessary to design a payload specialized in measuring stratospheric aerosol parameters. WANKA is a mission developed by peruvian undergraduate students from different universities, which main objective is to measure the concentration of stratospheric aerosols. It was done by the launch of a payload at the High-Altitude Student Platform, which is operated as a partnership between the NASA Balloon Program Office and Louisiana Space Consortium to train students in the development of aerospace projects. WANKA developed a cost-effective way to measure stratospheric aerosols concentration using two low-cost commercial light-scattering-based particle matter sensors, the Plantower PMS 7003 and the Sharp GP2Y1010AU0F. In order to perform these measurements, it was developed a system that acquires constantly samples from the stratosphere and adequate them to conditions where the sensors can operate. The payload was launched on September 14, 2021, from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, USA and most of the subsystems operated as expected. Finally, the team was accepted to participate in HASP 2022, to improve the structure of the payload and the data acquisition system.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería