6.07.2025

Credit: Andøya Space

A sounding rocket was successfully launched from an Andøya Space facility in Norway on 5 July as part of a research mission to collect meteoric smoke particles from the upper atmosphere.

Led by a team from the Arctic University of Norway (UiT), the MaxiDusty‑2 mission was designed to collect large ice particles from the upper mesosphere (approximately 70–110 km altitude), which contain non-melting meteoric smoke particles—solid remnants formed when meteors burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The mission is a follow-on to MaxiDusty-1 and 1B, which were launched in 2016 and aimed to study these particles in the upper mesosphere rather than collect physical samples for analysis back on Earth.

The MaxiDusty‑2 mission was launched at 06:00 UTC from the Andøya Space launch pad in Oksebåsen, Norway. The rocket reached a peak altitude of approximately 125 kilometres, with the mission’s instruments being successfully recovered following the flight. The samples collected will then be used to study how meteoric smoke particles affect cloud formation, atmospheric chemistry, and the transport of water vapour in the upper atmosphere.

“We have now managed to bring down dust and particles from the upper part of the atmosphere,” Kolbjørn Blix, head of Andøya Space Sub-Orbital, said. “It will be very interesting to see what the researchers at UiT manage to find out from the samples.”

The Norwegian Space Agency funded the NOK 18 million (€1.5 million) mission through the European Space Agency’s Prodex programme. It utilised an Improved Malemute rocket motor provided by the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) MORABA team, which also supplied the parachute and flotation systems used to recover the collected samples.

Quelle: European Spaceflight LTD