October 20th, 2017
Time since Launch
How did you guys do it?
"The REXUS/BEXUS programme allows students from universities and higher education colleges across Europe to carry out scientific and technological experiments on research rockets and balloons. Each year, two rockets and two balloons are launched, carrying up to 20 experiments designed and built by student teams."
What is REXUS/BEXUS?
How do I apply?
Step one is to click the button below, which will take you directly to the REXUS/BEXUS official website.
To learn more about the experiences of Team IRIS, keep browsing our site or head to our Contact page to easily get in touch with us. We would love hearing from you!
Team members showcasing an early prototype of the IRIS experiment. Though cardboard is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, the final design is likely to use a more sturdy material. Click here to see the rest of the Team!
How can I contribute?
To afford all the expensive components needed to get the best results, IRIS is currently in need of heroes. Since a lot of people have shown interest in our work, we decided to start a crowdfunding campaign at Generosity. Click the button below to go there and show the world that you are, indeed, a true hero.
Heroic Contributors
Erik Nyberg
Malin Ljungné
Joel Gustafsson
Erika & Peter
Herman
Emil Tullstedt
Karin Ackerholm
Ellen Larsson
Serafín & Teresa
The REXUS/BEXUS programme is realised under a bilateral Agency Agreement between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB). The Swedish share of the payload has been made available to students from other European countries through the collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Experts from DLR, SSC, ZARM and ESA provide technical support to the student teams throughout the project. EuroLaunch, the cooperation between the Esrange Space Center of SSC and the Mobile Rocket Base (MORABA) of DLR, is responsible for the campaign management and operations of the launch vehicles.
IRIS is an experiment realised under the German-Swedish student programme REXUS/BEXUS, to support the understanding of local albedo in the arctic region. The Project was inspired by the noticeable climate change in the arctic region. It is of our interest to further investigate how the different types of surfaces affect radiation reflection, in order to understand the contribution of each surface in the local heat budget.
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Albedo measurements In the Stratosphere
Lowered amounts of ice and snow in the Arctic contributes to global warming, driven by the decrease of the albedo which causes fundamental changes in the Arctic ecosystem - and therefore to the whole planet. Our hope is that the IRIS project will provide enough data to help scientists across the world study this effect in greater detail. Our main objectives are to eliminate error accumulated from remote sensing measurements, and to help ameliorate climate models predictions.
Electronics and Hardware
The electronics department is mainly responsible for collecting data accurately and reliably, using photodiodes and microcontrollers, with an onboard computer.
The Software Department is responsible for storing data and communicating with the Ground Station throughout the mission.
Software and Data Handling
The Mechanical Department is in charge of designing and manufacturing all the structures needed for IRIS, namely aluminium boxes that contain the electronic components and two booms that protrude from the gondola.
It is also in charge of the design and manufacture of the thermal control system that keeps all electronic components within their optimal temperature ranges.
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Special thanks to FemeC, who has been very helpful with the manufacturing of our mechanical parts!
Mechanical Design
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Optics
The Optics Department is responsible for the optical components of the experiment; such as lenses and filters. One great challenge is that optical components verified to work in extreme conditions are very expensive, which is why a large part of the project budget has been dedicated to this department.
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Below you can see a sketch of the CORNEA Optical System, developed by team member François Piette as part of his Master's thesis.
Welcome!
On this website you will find everything there is to know about the IRIS Project, a balloon experiment designed and built by 13 students based at Luleå University of Technology in northern Sweden. IRIS was launched from Esrange Space Center on October 20th, 2017, on the stratospheric balloon BEXUS 25. The data is now being analyzed, and results will be posted as soon as possible.
