On Wednesday, AET conducted their famous annual high-altitude balloon launch. This year, the balloon reached a maximum altitude of 55,000 ft, which is significantly lower than the average altitude of ~90,000 ft from past years. It landed in Dunkirk, MD—a much shorter distance than last year, where Mr. Croly, the AET Engineering Pathway Lead, had to travel all the way to New Jersey to retrieve the balloon.

AET Engineering students program sensors to understand how the environment changes as the balloon transcends from the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere. AOS and AET AP Biology classes use the data from these sensors to conduct experiments on how life survives in harsher environments. Students will also be making inferences on why the balloon popped so early this time around.

Photographs provided by Sandra Gad, Mr. Croly, and Ms. Roberts