Measuring Auroral and Arctic Ozone Using Student Made Hardware

Abstract:

This project is twofold to test the feasibility of student made hardware and teach students more about atmospheric instrumentation by providing students with education and materials, instructing them in design and building of hardware, and testing the hardware against commercial models in terms of weight, cost, and features. The Gaseous Compounds team of the University of Houston Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) selected the parts and the students of the team are assembling the payload. The payload will launch on a latex balloon in Houston and Fairbanks, Alaska. The instrument will gather data on the concentration of certain gases in the atmosphere as well as a meteorological profile of the atmosphere. The students plan to have the instrument collect and transmit data on carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone, as well as temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. The data will also be stored on an SD card as a backup in case transmission fails. These payloads will fly at night and day to get an accurate vertical profile of the atmosphere and these results will be tested against the results of commercial hardware with the same capabilities.