The US space agency (NASA) successfully launched a pressurized science balloon from New Zealand on Saturday, fulfilling a goal set 15 years ago, DPA reports.

This balloon, which is the size of a football stadium and has a large cargo capacity, took off from Wanaka Airport, located in the South Island of New Zealand, for a mission of at least 100 days of flight. Earth, NASA representatives reported in a press release.

The first balloon of this range was launched on April 16 and has already made three revolutions around the southern hemisphere of the Earth, sailing at an altitude of 33,000 meters.

According to Debbie Fairbrother, the program’s coordinator, the fact that two ultra-high-pressure balloons are in flight at the same time represents the achievement of a goal set 15 years ago.

“I’m so excited today, we did it! I am very proud of our balloon and our technical teams for their achievements. With these two balloons, we are preparing to support other, more advanced science programs in the years to come,” she said. stated

NASA has announced that the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2) is on board the second balloon. EUSO-2, developed as part of the University of Chicago’s science mission, will detect particles of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from beyond our galaxy entering Earth’s atmosphere.

The origin of these particles is still unknown, and the data collected by EUSO-2 will help decipher this mystery, NASA officials said.