This mission, named GUSTO (that's short for Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory), kicked off when they launched a massive balloon from McMurdo Station in Antarctica on December 31st. It stayed up there for 57 days straight, 7 hours, and 38 minutes! That's the longest any NASA balloon mission like this has ever flown, according to what NASA said.
GUSTO had a telescope hanging from a balloon as big as a stadium, floating up to crazy heights above 125,000 feet. The plan was to map a big chunk of our Milky Way galaxy and even check out a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This mission is part of NASA's Long Duration Balloon program. It lets scientists send fancy equipment way up high, almost at the edge of space, so they can see cool stuff in the universe without spending loads of money on space missions. Christopher Walker, who was in charge of this mission, said it's a great way for scientists to do more space science without breaking the bank.
The telescope on GUSTO checked out carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen between stars. This helps scientists figure out how gas moves around in our Milky Way. The balloon had a smooth ride thanks to good winds and plenty of sunlight during the Antarctic summer.
This balloon mission beat the old record held by another balloon mission called SuperTIGER, which flew for more than 55 days back in December 2012.
Andrew Hamilton, who works at NASA's Balloon Program Office, said lots of people made this mission happen. He thanked everyone involved, from the team running things on the ground to the folks making the balloons, to the support team in Antarctica, and everyone at NASA.
The mission officially ended on February 26th when the balloon and telescope parachuted back down to Earth safely in Antarctica.
A super-duper big balloon