recalled Walter regarding the car-sized object. She also characterized the experience as “surreal,” and it’s easy to understand why.
While initial reports indicated that the balloon was lost, such occurrences are not unusual. NASA previously sent a balloon to study “electric” blue clouds. Christopher Mendillo, the lead investigator overseeing the balloon’s experiment, spoke to Space.com and mentioned that the landing site was chosen deliberately, noting that due to the expansive areas and absence of infrastructure, landings on farms and ranches are typical.
The balloon was launched from Fort Sumner, New Mexico on October 1, landing 140 miles east in Plainsview, Texas the following day. Researchers retrieved the equipment on the same day it landed. Overall, Walter remarked that it “was a very cool experience.” Despite budget cuts that could impede decades of advancement in space science and a government shutdown, it seems NASA research is still ongoing.
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