ATHENS, Ga. - Elementary school students in Athens launched a weather balloon that reached an altitude of nearly 97,000 feet and traveled nearly 100 miles to Sparta.
The Engineering Club at Chase Elementary School released the 7-foot helium-filled balloon Tuesday. They tracked it to a dense swamp in a heavily wooded area in Hancock County. Computer technology teacher Chis Sugiuchi said his team worked for two days to retrieve the balloon's tracking equipment and cameras from the swamp.
The teacher told the Athens Banner-Herald that the two high-definition cameras captured images of the Earth's atmosphere, curvature and geography. He said the images inspired lots of questions from the students, and he hopes the project will encourage them to study the sciences.