Balloons for scientific research: The international scene

Abstract

Scientific ballooning has over the last 30 to 40 years, led to many important discoveries and it continues to be relevant and important in the present era of space platforms. The advantages of using balloons for scientific research are enumerated. A brief review of the major achievements from scientific ballooning in several fields, such as atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric circulation, submillimeter and infrared astronomy, ultraviolet and optical astronomy, X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, cosmic rays and cosmic dust, is presented. The unique advantages of balloon platforms and their role as precursors of extended missions with space platforms are described. Finally, the future needs of scientific ballooning for making it a more effective tool are highlighted.