High-altitude balloons over Oregon bring search for life on Mars one step closer

It’s an icy fall morning at the Madras Airport. In the distance, Mount Jefferson is pink with dawn light.

A crew led by Vic Rogers from Near Space Corporation has been working all night preparing for inflation.

“We’re gonna clear the hose,” he shouts to his team over the rumble of the truck stacked with helium tanks. “I’m just gonna run a little gas just to get the dirt, bugs or whatever out of the line.”

With a low hiss, the line is cleared.

Off to one side, Near Space President Kevin Tucker braces himself with a large air hose on the tarmac.

“We’re about ready to start inflation. We’ll start running helium — it runs up the inflation tub and will start inflating the main bubble of the balloon,” he says.

The low hiss comes again, then a loud whine as the airflow increases. The translucent white top of the balloon billows and eventually pulls off the ground, anchored to a winch on a trailer.

This isn’t a kid’s balloon. It’s not even a hot air balloon. The balloon Tucker is helping to inflate is about 500 feet, close to 50 stories high. It will only be partially filled, because the gas inside will expand as it rises.