An experiment to measure how plastic degrades and releases greenhouse gasses took to the skies on a high-altitude balloon on August 22. It was created by a team of four Maui High School students, under the guidance of University of Hawaiʻi professors.
The experiment was launched into space from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in New Mexico and the students watched the live stream broadcast from Hawaiʻi.
The experiment was selected for the flight by the program Cubes in Space, in partnership with NASA. The students have worked with professors and graduate students from the UH Mānoa Department of Mathematics on it since November 2023.
“It wasn’t until the students watched that massive balloon ascend, carrying their own experiment into the stratosphere, that the true magnitude of their accomplishment really sank in for them,” said UH Mānoa mathematics Professor Monique Chyba. “For these students from Maui, who’ve faced such a challenging year, this rare opportunity wasn’t just a scientific milestone—it was a powerful reminder of their resilience and potential.”
The payload is expected to return within the coming weeks and the students’ will then finalize their research findings.
- Related UH News story: Maui HS students’ climate research to take flight with NASA, June 3, 2024
As global plastic demand increases, so do its climate impacts since UV radiation causes plastics to emit greenhouse gasses such as ethylene. This study, using a stratospheric balloon at 120,000 feet, measures emissions from short-term sunlight exposure, unlike previous long-term studies. If the students’ hypothesis is correct, weakened atmospheric conditions will allow more UV radiation through, increasing greenhouse gas emissions from dumped plastics, thereby worsening climate change.
The experiment is funded through a National Science Foundation RAPID grant awarded to UH Mānoa in the wake of the deadly Maui wildfires. Along with co-principal investigator Chyba on the team are UH Mānoa College of Education Professor and project principal investigator Tara O’Neill, and co-principal investigators UH Mānoa Department of Mathematics Associate Professor Yuriy Mileyko and UH Maui College Assistant Professor Thomas Blamey. They met with the students in person on Maui and over Zoom in the spring 2024 semester to develop a proposal and on-time submission.
