Students to participate in high-altitude balloon mission as part of national research team.
University of Bridgeport (UB) has been selected to join a national research team participating in a NASA-supported solar eclipse research mission in Burgos, Spain, this summer. The opportunity is part of a project led by Montana State University (MSU), which was invited by NASA to conduct the research.
On Aug. 12, four students and two faculty members will launch stratospheric balloons to altitudes between 90,000 and 120,000 feet to collect atmospheric and communications data and capture rare near-space imagery of the eclipse shadow as it moves across Earth.
The experience also includes students from Montana State University and University of North Florida, whose teams will conduct flights during the mission. Students from University of Hartford will join the University of Bridgeport team, collaborating on the mission. Each team will design and launch two balloons carrying scientific payloads of up to 13 pounds of scientific equipment designed to measure changes in the concentration of atmospheric ozone during the eclipse and monitor its effect on radio communications.
In preparation for the trip to Spain, University of Bridgeport students, alongside participating University of Hartford students, will conduct three test flights in Connecticut, beginning with an on-campus launch on a date to be announced.
“This program gives students the kind of experience you simply cannot replicate in a classroom,” said Jani Macari Pallis, professor of mechanical engineering at University of Bridgeport and one of the faculty mentors supporting the mission. “They are learning how to prepare for a real mission, launch and recover high-altitude balloon systems, adapt to changing conditions and work through the many variables that come with scientific field research. It’s an incredible opportunity to build technical skills, confidence and contribute to meaningful research alongside NASA and our university partners.”
The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation, was founded at Montana State University in 2014 to engage university and high school students in advanced engineering and atmospheric science experiments during solar eclipses. University of Bridgeport previously participated in NASA-sponsored eclipse projects in 2017, 2023 and 2024.
Follow the team’s journey from test flights in Connecticut to eclipse research in Spain, and explore how UB Engineering students turn classroom learning into real-world discovery.