U of MN Ballooning Team Preps for the April 8 Total Solar Eclipse
Annular eclipse team (l to r): Jesse, Prof. Flaten, Jasmine, Jess, Ashton, Alex, Seyon, Ethan, Yoel.
The October 14, 2023 Annular Eclipse team (left to right): Jesse, Prof. Flaten, Jasmine, Jess, Ashton, Alex, Seyon, Ethan, Yoel.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/03/2024)— This week, the UMN – Twin Cities Stratospheric Ballooning Team will be getting ready to travel to Indiana to fly balloon-borne experiments during the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.

The Team chose this location because they will be in the path of totality, where the moon completely blocks out the face of the sun for several minutes. Flight camera footage from the total eclipse promises to be dramatic.

Along with the U's team, 53 other educational institutions across the United States are participating in the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) which will be on hand within other locations of totality to perform their experiments and recordings. Each team is part of the “video-streaming” (AKA “engineering”) side of the NEBP. 

The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and the Minnesota Space Grant Consortium will host a watch party on April 8 from 12:45 to 2:30 pm in the Balas Atrium where viewers can see both the eclipse and live streams from several other Space Grant stratospheric balloons missions.