Help us find our lost high-altitude balloon experiment near the Grand Canyon in Arizona! On June 8, 2013 our team of Stanford Aero/Astro Graduate students launched a high-altitude balloon experiment from north of Tuba City, AZ with a predicted landing south of the Grand Canyon. We lost telemetry after 97,000 ft. and were not able to locate our payload which was broadcasting a call sign on 423 MHz. The transmitter has since died and we were tantalizingly close to finding our payload, but had to head back for final exams.

We are offering a $1000 cash reward or $2000 credit in the vedphoto store for anyone who successfully recovers our payload (with memory cards intact) by September 16. After September 16, we will be returning to search the area ourselves.

What you are looking for: A red parachute, silver radar retroreflector and payload box with cameras inside. Please DO NOT OPEN the box if found, we need to open it. The balloon will have popped, so you may only see shards of it remaining:

IMG_1099

Where to look: See map below. Contours indicate probability of landing site ( within red, highest chance of balloon landing in designated region). Some areas have been removed as we already conducted a search there.

Download the full resolution map here (imagery by Google Earth, compiled for search use only):

 http://www.vedphoto.com/himarcballoon1/h676B9D4D

Balloon search map (Terrain) 20 June 2013

Remember:

Please be safe and prepared before setting out into this region. Temperatures can reach 115 F and it is miles away from major roadways. In addition, please keep up to date on local forest fires and do not start one yourself!