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Paper: Eclipse Ballooning Project Live Streaming Activity: Overview, Outcomes, and Lessons Learned
Volume: 516, Celebrating the 2017 Great American Eclipse: Lessons Learned from the Path of Totality
Page: 353
Authors: Des Jardins, A. C.; Mayer-Gawlik, S.; Larimer, R.; Knighton, W. B.; Fowler, J.; Ross, D.; Koehler, C.; Guzik, T. G.; Granger, D.; Flaten, J.; Grimberg, B. I.
Abstract: In early 2014 representatives of NASA Space Grant recognized that it was important to make the most of the natural enthusiasm for the 2017 total solar eclipse. Within the higher education realm, the Space Grant Program was in a unique position to take on this responsibility. However, there was no nationwide structure in place to carry out a coordinated higher education eclipse effort. Therefore, a leadership team made up of personnel from several Space Grant consortia designed the Eclipse Ballooning Project. The project combined NASA Science Mission Directorate and Space Grant resources with cutting edge tools to create a network of dozens of high altitude balloon and radiosonde atmospheric science teams positioned along the path of totality across the country. These teams focused on three major tasks: 1) capturing and streaming the first ever live video of an eclipse from the edge of space, 2) partnering with NASA Ames Research Center on the space biology experiment, and 3) conducting high-resolution atmospheric radiosonde measurements. The focus of this paper is the overview, outcomes, and lessons learned of the first task. The second and third tasks, as well as in-depth descriptions about the live streaming systems, communication to the public, and project evaluation, are reported on in separate publications.
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