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Get ready to explore the universe on a balloon! NASA’s GUSTO experiment is underway in the icy continent of Antarctica, near the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station research base. The launch of GUSTO is scheduled from the Ross Ice Shelf, with the expedition set to begin on December 21st.
What is GUSTO? It’s the Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory. GUSTO will be observing the interstellar medium, mapping a large part of the Milky Way in extremely high-frequency radio waves. Its primary goal is to study the different phases of the interstellar medium as well as the abundance of key chemical elements in our galaxy.
Specifically, GUSTO will focus on looking for carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, which are vital for life on Earth and play a crucial role in the structure of the interstellar medium. The telescope will also be keeping an eye on how stars and planets are formed in the vast spaces between galaxies.
While our galaxy is home to billions of fascinating stars and celestial bodies, GUSTO is much more interested in the vast areas of space in between. This is where the building blocks of stars and planets congregate, forming massive molecular clouds that could birth new stars and planetary systems.
GUSTO is an instrumental tool in understanding this process, allowing scientists to gain invaluable insight into the creation and evolution of these molecular clouds. The project is a result of collaboration between NASA, the University of Arizona, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), as well as MIT, JPL, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and others.
As a cosmic radio, GUSTO can detect specific cosmic elements by sensing the high-frequency signals emitted by atoms and molecules in space. By tuning into these signals, the telescope can identify the presence of these key building blocks of the universe.
All in all, GUSTO promises to be a groundbreaking mission, shedding light on the secrets hidden in the spaces between the stars. Learn more about this exciting expedition here.