Poster Presentation

High-Altitude Ballooning for Muon Detection: Preliminary Testing for an International Research Collaboration

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Abstract

Muons are a fundamental component of secondary cosmic ray showers and are produced when high-energy primary cosmic rays interact with nuclei in the Earth’s atmosphere. Our research aims to further our understanding of cosmic ray interactions with the Earth’s troposphere and stratosphere by launching muon detectors on high-altitude balloons. Beyond a simple altitude profile, we are examining muon flux across a large geographic area through partnerships with multiple secondary and higher education institutions capable of coordinated high-altitude balloon launches across Australia and the United States. These coordinated launches aim to collect muon data from multiple regions and altitudes, offering valuable insights into global variations in cosmic ray interactions. This poster provides an overview of the preliminary feasibility-testing phase of this collaboration. During feasibility testing, considerations for muon detector launches on high-altitude balloons included temperature, pressure, altitude, landing impact, detection rates, and data storage of the muon detectors. The results of this testing provide important insights moving forward with coordinated muon detector launches on high-altitude balloons and provide a roadmap for best practices in continuing this research collaboration.

Keywords: high-altitude balloon, cosmic rays, atmospheric science, weather balloon, muons, muon detector, particle detector, particle physics

How to Cite:

Jia, A., Cohen, L., Meyer, J., Knoblock, R. & Sperling, A., (2025) “High-Altitude Ballooning for Muon Detection: Preliminary Testing for an International Research Collaboration”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2025(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.20105