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Scientific balloon.

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No, we're not decorating for a party,

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but scientific
balloons can be just as fun.

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These balloons are huge.

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Some are wider than a football field,
and they offer another often cheaper way

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besides rockets and planes
to carry scientific instruments.

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Scientific
balloons can fly higher than 100,000 feet,

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giving us a clear view of space
above Earth's atmosphere,

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which allows us to look out
into the universe.

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Instruments flying on NASA's balloons
often study things like cosmic rays

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and dark matter. Balloons also provide
a way to test scientific instruments

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before they go on a larger space missions
like space telescopes.

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NASA flies
a couple of kinds of scientific balloons.

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Some are open at the end,
like hot air balloons.

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Another kind known, as super pressure

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balloons, are completely sealed,
so no gases can escape.

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Super pressure balloons can stay aloft
for several weeks and circle the globe.

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Wallops manages NASA's scientific balloons
program,

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launching balloons from around the
world to study our universe.