Super View from a Super Pressure Balloon

From NASA's Earth Observatory:

Super View from a Super Pressure Balloon

Later this month, residents of countries in the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes, such as Argentina and South Africa, may catch a glimpse of a large NASA heavy-lift scientific balloon as it travels around the globe on a potentially record-breaking flight. NASA is scheduled to launch a heavy-lift super pressure balloon (SPB) as early as March 15 from Wanaka, New Zealand, with the goal of exceeding the current SPB record of 54 days. SPBs have the potential to stay afloat for up to 100 days under the right conditions.

NASA balloons are one of the best-kept secrets in the science community. They provide invaluable science at relatively low cost, and they offer scientists an opportunity to test groundbreaking instruments before they’re considered for free-flying spacecraft. Standard NASA balloons are very large structures, comprised of 10 to 50 acres or more of film that can carry several-ton payloads above 99.5 % of Earth’s atmosphere, above 130,000 feet.

This image is a photograph taken from a super pressure balloon at altitude during an earlier flight.