Imagine a high school achieving a feat that not even NASA successfully could complete! West Ranch High School Astronomy students will become the first high school to collect cosmic dust during a meteor shower with a high altitude weather balloon, as well as testing numerous original  experiments while 30 miles above Earth.

The experiment’s main objective is to collect cosmic dust left from comets. The Stardust project  by NASA  attempted to collect this cosmic dust in 1999 (http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html). Currently  NASA with the ER-2 plane flies up to 65,000 feet, and then under the wings doors open to collect the dust, while the student balloon will travel to 100,000 feet, which is far enough to image the curvature of the Earth!

This is a huge experiment for the local students with the possibility of contributing great data to the scientific community. The target launch date for the students is 6pm May 16th at the West Ranch High School outdoor amphitheater.  To collect the cosmic dust the student’s have designed a device with aerogel and silicon oil  to open and close well above most of the atmosphere, which would contaminate the sample. They will open in a clean room at CSUN.  CSUN has expressed their interest in helping with the project. They see great value in the experiment, and the great possibilities that data from cosmic dust could bring to the scientific community. Students will be presenting their findings at a conference to be held on May 28 at 6:30 in the West Ranch Library, and are seeking members of the community to serve as panel members.