3 kids send camera to near-Earth space for US$150

[miriam_e]

How cool is this?

Oliver Yeh, Justin Lee, and Eric Newton sent a cheap digital camera up 28km into near-Earth space to take photos, then return to Earth for recovery... all for the cost of $150 (AU$170).

On their website (http://space.1337arts.com) they describe how their incredibly ingenious, surprisingly low-tech procedure. They've also posted the pictures there, and a time-lapse video compiled from them on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCBBRRp9DOQ&feature=player_embedded
and on Vimeo for those in China, behind the internet censor (a fate soon to befall Australia if we don't get our act together)
http://vimeo.com/6650343

How fabulous are these kids!

Comments

[hestia.livejournal.com]

Ha! Very cool.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Very. :)

[damien-wise.livejournal.com]

I love hearing about science experiments like this.
Not only are the results beautiful, but the learning that comes from the work is great. Plus, it's wonderful that school-kids are encouraged to get into such experimentation, combining photography, electronicssoftware and atmospheric science. Alson, tip of the hat for coordinating with the FAA for a good drop-zone and not interfering with nearby aircraft.

Makes me wonder how easy it would be to conduct a similar project here near Melbourne, Australia. :)

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

heheheh :) First thing that jumped into my head too. I'm sure many people will duplicate and extend these efforts.

I wonder if I'll live to see the first schoolkids land a cheap camera+transmitter on the moon. It would be especially nice if it happened before NASA sent another major mission there... ummm... not counting the imminent moon-landing of the LCROSS spaceship of course. (Well, "impact" might be a better word than "landing", and LCROSS is actually 2 spacecraft; one to impact the moon sending a plume of lunar material skyward, and the other to send us images of it.)