News - University of Toledo - Partnership
Toledo Students Reach for the Sky in Urban Heat Island Study with Weather Balloon Launch
DreamBig, a project conducted in
partnership with the University of Toledo, NearSpace, and NASA,
launched a high-altitude weather balloon Monday, May 5, 2025, at
Defiance Elementary School as part of their Senior Capstone Project to
study the urban heat island phenomenon. Infrared sensors and a GPS
module are used to measure heat emitted from the Earth. The project
involved Graduate students from the University of Toledo and high
school students from the Toledo Technology Academy of Engineering and
Crestwood High School, Dearborn Heights, MI. Unfortunately, the
balloon got stuck in a tree about 80 feet off the ground. But the team
is working to construct and modify a space-ready payload for a ThinSat
satellite to be launched into orbit, collecting similar data related
to the students' research.
News origin: University of Toledo - Partnership