Four Research Benefits Of The Perlan II Flight

Currently, commercial aircraft fly at 35,000-40,000 ft. With the expansion of air travel, this height has the potential for congestion. The Perlan II glider will gather information on the dynamics of flying at high altitude. This research could potentially be used to design future high-altitude commercial aircraft.

In contrast to balloons sent up to the stratosphere to gather data, the Perlan II can direct its flight, which allows for a more accurate measurement. Also, balloons go to about 50,000 ft., whereas the Perlan II aims to hit 90,000 ft.—greatly increasing the amount and type of data gathered. The glider will be equipped with many scientific measuring instruments to collect air data including winds, air temperatures, electric and magnetic fields, and water vapor and methane which will contribute to our understanding of weather patterns.

When we think about colonizing Mars, much of the focus is on the vehicles for exploring the terrain—but what about using aircraft as a means to travel across the Martian surface? Mars’s atmosphere is similar to flying at 90,000 ft. on Earth, so the glider's functionality in this space could provide tips on how to design an aircraft for Mars. One focus is to learn whether the Perlan II’s wingspan is optimal for flying in Mars's atmosphere at 2% of the pressure of Earth’s.

Many of the chemicals in air are volatile, so an aircraft’s engine could skew data whereas the Perlan II is engineless and will not affect the chemical research the team plans to perform on the ozone layer. The glider will be able to take uncontaminated air samples to see if we are slowing or reversing the ozone layer. The formation of nitric acid crystals that come in contact with chlorofluororocarbons in the atmosphere cause the release of chlorine that catalyzes ozone destruction. In real time, the Perlan II will be able to study the chemistry of ozone depletion.