Space Carpinchos

Ciudad de la Costa, Canelones | Near-Space Near You!

Awards & Nominations

Space Carpinchos has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Global Nominee

The Carplloon! A never used before way to reach space.

High-Level Project Summary

We aim for younger generations to be able to create an accessible and functional HAB, that allows them to experience a first approach to the STEM field. With an ingenious design, we managed to create a HAB model that operates on solar energy, a more ecological and economical alternative to helium and nitrogen. Using the reflection of the sun's rays incident to a mirrored pyramid we can raise the temperature of an aluminum core inside the envelope, which is formed by a space blanket, reducing the density of the air and increasing its buoyancy. In addition, it could be equipped with a variety of sensors for the more practical study of natural phenomena.Studying space is a step to the future.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEr0FLEfCQ/g619TSj7hSJEdLF4Bnj9Iw/view?utm_content=DAEr0FLEfCQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Link to Final Project

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AaGrkaNZgf4WXI4AxBXTjQm-v63TJPRetmj6iz1cLkw/edit?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

INTRODUCTION

The project is still at an early stage of development, with only a theoretical part and estimated measurements due to the short time that has been worked on it.

With more time, several experiments could be carried out to obtain more accurate measurements of the design, as well as to know if it is necessary to add, remove or modify features to make the balloon perform better.

Some examples of what could be done with such time are to observe how effective the pyramid and aluminum core system is in heating the balloon air, to measure more accurately the time needed to reach a required minimum temperature and how well it is maintained with the space blanket. Additionally, a maximum weight supported by the balloon could be estimated based on the size and temperature of the balloon.

Before testing the final project, a smaller scale prototype could also be tested to get a more accurate estimate than the theoretical one. In addition, the different parts of the project could be tested separately, i.e. the core with the pyramid, the thermal blanket and other features if added. Another experiment that could be useful would be to float the balloon but keeping it at a controlled height (tying it to the ground for example) to observe its performance.

For the GPS and sensors it is also important to verify that the battery lasts long enough and that all parts work as expected.

A world wide initiative:

We can use the web to promote our project, so students all around the world can access the design and materials of our low-cost and eco-friendly high-altitude balloon. For example, we can build a web page (with html, CSS and JavaScript) hosted on GitHub, explaining our project in great detail, in order to achieve a wider reach in the community and promote open-source principles.

THEORY

Scientific balloons have allowed us to carry out scientific studies for decades. During its evolution, the basic concept of the hot air balloon has not changed, but there has been a great increase in its capabilities and in its reliability. You don't need a big budget to carry out scientific research and it can be launched from anywhere in the world.

There are three types of scientific globes:

-Conventional Balloons: Conventional missions typically use direct line-of-sight electronics for command and data with flight durations ranging from a few hours to days.

-Long duration balloon: A long duration balloon mission normally crosses continents or travels around the world for a circumnavigation. LDB flights can last up to three weeks and satellite-based electronic systems are used for command and data.

-Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB): It has been designed to increase the duration of the flight up to one hundred days in which a greater amount of data can be collected.

One can underestimate the balloons but they have much more potential than we usually think. The data collected by them is used to answer very important questions such as: "How did the Universe, galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?" and “Are there Earth-like planets beyond our Solar System? For example, in December 2023 a balloon will be launched that, fully inflated, is the width of a football field.

ASTHROS will use a state-of-the-art telescope to observe wavelengths that are not visible from the ground. Standard NASA balloons are made of the same material as polyethylene plastic bags. This material is only 0.002 centimeters thick.

These balloons have a zero pressure since their bottom part is open to the atmosphere to equalize the pressure inside with that of the environment. The system consists of the balloon, the parachute and a payload containing scientific instruments. The gas with which balloons are inflated is the same as that used in birthday parties, helium.

Atmosphere:

According to a study carried out by Namara called An Analysis of Burst Altitude for Weather Balloons the regions of the atmosphere are categorized by ranges in temperature. While one might believe the temperature steadily decreases at greatest heights, this is not the case; temperature does decrease initially through the troposphere, however then continues to fluctuate throughout the stratosphere and mesosphere.

The region of the atmosphere corresponding to the first temperature descent is known as the troposphere. The troposphere ends at approximately 11 km and contains almost all weather activity.

Above the troposphere is a region of space which has been sorely under-explored in humanity research of space. This region, the stratosphere, extends up to approximately 50 km above the Earth’s surface and is bounded at its highest point by the stratosphere. Through the stratosphere, temperature actually increases because of higher concentrations of ozone, which absorbs UV radiation more efficiently than air. To a higher place found the mesosphere. It too is an under-explored region of the atmosphere, out of the reach of the average weather balloon.

Pressure

The atmosphere is a gaseous fluid that exerts pressure over every object immersed in it, we included. Atmospheric pressure varies in space and time and is basically dependent on height, being higher close to the sea level, because atmospheric pressure depends on the weight of the altitude, the smaller the amount of air above, so it will be lighter and atmospheric pressure will be lower. In addition the decrease in weight is greater because air density decreases with height.

Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted by the air that forms the atmosphere on the earth's surface. This force is inversely proportional to altitude, the higher the altitude, the lower the atmospheric pressure and the lower the altitude, the higher the atmospheric pressure.

Reflection of light

Light reflection is the change in direction of light rays that occurs in the same medium after striking the surface of a different medium. It is governed by two principles of reflection: The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence are in the same plane. The angle of the incident ray "i" and the angle of reflection "r" are equal.

Archimedes Principle:

Archimedes' principle states that the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces. Archimedes' principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics. It was formulated by Archimedes of Syracuse.

Fluid mechanics:

Fluid mechanics is the branch of mechanics that studies the movement of fluids. A fluid is a body that has the ability to flow, lacking all stiffness and elasticity. Due to these characteristics, it immediately yields to any force that alters its shape, adopting the shape of the container that contains it.

Likewise, we can say that a fluid is a substance that is continuously deformed when subjected to a shear stress or tangential force. Fluid mechanics, as its name implies, is an area of mechanics aimed at studying fluids; To achieve this goal, it uses the principles of classical mechanics. Fluid mechanics examines fluids in two subsystems: static and dynamic:

Fluid statics: Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body.

Fluid Dynamics: In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids, liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics.

CONCEPT, DESIGN AND MATERIALS

Solar balloons are hot air balloons powered by the sun. In their simplest form, they consist of a dark coloured envelope that absorbs solar radiation, heating the air within the balloon.

Solar balloons are a more eco-friendly alternative than helium balloons. Helium is a limited natural resource. It can be generated through nuclear fusion and is abundant in space, but neither of these sources are a cost-effective option. Helium is originally formed by the radioactive decay of heavy elements in the earth's crust. The gas often escapes into the atmosphere and cannot be recovered, but sometimes it is trapped and mixes with other resources such as natural gas. When this happens the extraction of helium, along with another high value resource, can be cost effective. The helium is extracted via a helium recovery plant and so like CO2, becomes a by-product of another industrial process (liquified natural gas (LNG) production).

The recent helium shortage is due to a number of factors: declining production at the world's largest helium source, the US Government's BLM facility in Amarillo Texas; the embargo of Qatar by its neighbours, plus long outages at other large helium production facilities in the US and Algeria. All this at a time when world consumption of helium continues to grow.

HAB Design:

Our high altitude balloon (HAB) is designed so that young students can easily access the materials necessary for its construction at a low cost. The envelope is made out of space blankets, which are affordable and very effective at retaining heat, even at freezing temperatures. With 4 high-resistance nylon strings attached to the balloon we can lift a foam box that contains gas, humidity and temperature sensors connected to an Arduino UNO (amongst a GPS receiver) powered by a rechargeable 9-volt lithium battery (which costs about 4 US dollars on amazon.com). Students can collect data in order to learn more about the near-space. A pyramid with a square base is glued on top of the box with a sufficient angle so that the sun's rays are reflected from it, entering the lower opening of the envelope to heat the interior of our balloon and an aluminium core inside it.

Some of the most useful aspects of space blankets are that they're lightweight, take up very little space and don't cost very much. A typical space blanket costs less than $12 and weighs around 9 ounces (255 grams). It's approximately 9 square meters.

The pyramid:

The right rectangular pyramid must be hollow to reduce the overall weight of our HAB. The faces of the pyramid are made of mirror polystyrene, which is light and inexpensive. The reflective surface of this material will allow us to redirect the sun's rays to heat the air inside the balloon, making the air "less dense". The total cost of the pyramid (not including its base) is around 6 to 7 US dollars. Base: 20 cm x 20 cm. Total surface area (without its base): 460 cm2.

We simulated the reflection of the rays of light. And we were pleasantly surprised, it worked flawlessly. Redirecting the rays towards the interior of the balloon (upwards) and the aluminum core.

Aluminium core:

The aluminum core is the element of the globe (shaped like a concave semi-sphere) in charge of concentrating the solar energy supplied by the mirrored pyramid. It is located in the lower-center section of the envelope (the aluminium core is inside the envelope) and it is an essential element for its correct operation. (The amount of aluminum required adds up to a total of 12 US dollars). knowing that the density of aluminum is 2.7 g/cm3. The weight of the aluminum core adds up to about 59 grams approximately.

Inside of the foam box there are the following components:

Arduino:

Arduino is a development platform based on a free hardware electronic board that incorporates a re-programmable microcontroller and a series of female pins. These allow establishing connections between the microcontroller and the different sensors and actuators in a very simple way (mainly with dupont cables).

(the Arduino Uno is for sale on amazon.com for 23 US dollars on average).

GPS receiver:

Once the high-altitude balloon (HAB) has already been released into "near-space", it will be necessary to follow its trajectory in order to know its location in real time. For that we will need a GPS receiver, a device that is capable of receiving information from GNSS satellites and then calculating the device's geographical position. Using suitable software, the device may display the position on a map, and it may offer routing directions. A GPS module for Arduino is for sale on amazon.com for about 12 US dollars on average.

MQ-135 gas sensor:

The MQ-135 is a gas sensor that is usually used in air quality control equipment for buildings and offices. It is suitable for detecting ammonia, nitric oxide, alcohol, benzene, smoke, carbon dioxide and many more dangerous gases.

The MQ-135 is mounted on top of a breakout board this makes it easy to use, on the back on the breakout board there are four pins which are for analog output, digital output, ground and VCC (VCC must be connected to five volts, analog or digital output can be used).

The advantage of the MQ-135 is that it is low cost and is perfectly suitable for monitoring air quality. When a dangerous gas is detected the resistance changes and the conductivity increases.

It is necessary to do the burn in procedure, this means that you should place the sensor in a room with clean air for at least 24 hours (it's highly recommended to do it for 48 hours). (the MQ-135 sensor is for sale on amazon.com for 3 US dollars on average).

DHT11 humidity and temperature sensor:

In order to calculate the humidity in the air, a DHT11 humidity and temperature sensor is necessary (it is for sale on amazon.com for 4 US dollars on average). The DHT11 uses just one signal wire to transmit data to the Arduino. Power comes from separate 5V and ground wires. A 10K Ohm pull-up resistor is needed between the signal line and 5V line to make sure the signal level stays high by default.

Conclusions:

- The total weight of the box containing the arduino UNO, sensors and cables is approximately 130 grams.

- The total price of the box containing the arduino UNO, sensors and cables is approximately 43 US dollars.

- The total price of our HAB is approximately 74 US dollars.

- The total weight of our HAB is approximately 600 grams.

PROCEDURE

Next we will proceed to detail step by step the planning, construction, launching, monitoring and recovery of the project, for this it is necessary to read carefully to be able to do it correctly.

Planning:

It is necessary to plan the project in advance before even starting to assemble and launch the balloon. Starting by choosing the location where the launch will take place. This place must meet certain requirements; you need a large place, away from trees, wiring, buildings and the sea. Once the place is chosen, the preparations will begin.

When launching a balloon into the air it is necessary to request a permit from the governmental authorities. These will ask for certain information about the people involved and the characteristics of the project (e.g. size of the balloon, color, location, etc), this varies depending on the country. In the case of Uruguay you need to contact the “Dirección Nacional de Aviación Civil e Infraestructura Aeronáutica” (DINACIA).

It is important to keep in mind that one or more vehicles will be required to follow and recover the balloon.

Elaboration:

To begin the project it is necessary to have all the materials at the time of making it. Once everything is in place, we start by spreading the space blankets in the shape of a cross, then we fold the blankets, joining the ends to the wire ring and seal the openings with aluminum tape. With two wires folded in the shape of a dome around the ring, thus forming the surface of the core, we cover it with aluminum foil (ideally no more than 3 layers thick, thus saving weight and making it lighter).

We will begin to assemble the foam plastic platform, then place on it the programmable Arduino UNO board, followed by the GPS and extra sensors if used (for this you will find documentation on how to make the connections in this document).

In order to assemble the mirror pyramid, we will have to cut with the measures the polystyrene pieces (these are isosceles triangles of 20 cm base and 15.3 cm side) and place them just below the core.

Launch;

The first thing to do to raise the balloon is, obviously, to fill it with air in the way you prefer, then we will tie both parts (the sail and the platform), thus completing the balloon structure. Afterwards we will tie it to the ground to make sure it doesn't take off too soon.

To heat the air inside the balloon, it will be necessary to hold the wire ring with the aluminum core over the mirror pyramid until it gets hot enough to be able to support itself. Then all that is left is to wait until the balloon reaches high temperatures (greater than about 50°C or 122°F) and then release the balloon to rise.

Monitoring and recovery;

After raising the balloon in the air it is necessary to monitor its position using the GPS transmitter, in order to know where it falls and to be able to recover it easily.

CONCLUSION

Culminating the analysis of the described theory and the proposed innovation, and by testing the concepts previously studied throughout our lives, such as Newton's Laws, thermodynamics, mathematical relationships, among others, we realized how related all the concepts are. This project allowed us to gather and deepen them on a large scale, intertwining content and complementing ideas, in order to determine the fundamental points of our project, such as the polystyrene pyramid, its height and area through which part of the core heating process will be carried out.

Space Agency Data

With the information we got from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), we were able to talk about the composition and materials of scientific globes, the types of balloons that exist, their characteristics and their applications. We also talked about the ASTHROS balloon and were quite impressed with its huge dimensions. There was information that really helped us to understand more about the subject and to motivate and inspire us. We previously believed that balloons could not have an application as important as the one it has, it really changed our opinion about them even to the point of wanting to launch one.

Hackathon Journey

Our project gave us the opportunity to expand our knowledge in diverse ways. During the process, we all acquired knowledge in different areas, highlighting with no doubt the related to physics, mathematics, and chemistry, such as the Reflection of light, Newton's Laws, Archimedes' Principle, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, among others. This experience in Space Apps was an opened door that encouraged us to investigate more about the subject, realizing all the science that surrounds us, and how strongly the concepts are related to each other.

We decided to participate in this competition since we all share a great interest in science, space, and STEM in general, as well as to enjoy creating a project and working as a team, so we were fascinated by the proposal from the moment we found it. We were particularly inclined to choose the "Near Space, Near You" theme, since we were fascinated by the challenge of raising a balloon so high in the sky, as well as for being a fun way to learn and apply scientific concepts, both for us and for many other students.

In addition to that, we learned to work together, as a team, being very different people who had never worked together before, managing to create a healthy and fun work bond, and trusting each other. We solved setbacks and organized the work as a team, each one of us giving their point of view and reaching a common agreement, in order to be all comfortable with the project.

In addition, we want to apply what we have learned in every aspect to encourage others to create a better world, since it makes no sense to learn something if it is not shared with others later, as a channel in which learning flows and is transmitted.

We would love, first of all, to thank everyone who made this meeting possible: NASA, Girls in Tech, Rootstrap, the United States Embassy in Uruguay, Fundación Los Pinos, among others, and particularly the organizers and tutors who were always willing to help us when adversities were presented. In addition, we want to thank all the external people who gave us a hand, such as our families, physics and chemistry teachers from our high school, among others.