From Cambodia, With Helium

Abstract

![Figure][1] CREDIT: OUR PALE BLUE DOT PROJECT Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, launched an object into space for the first time earlier this month. The vessel—dubbed “Preah Atet,” or “The Sun,” by a local 16-year-old high school student—was a 20×30-cm Styrofoam box borne aloft by a helium balloon and festooned with cut-up pool toys in case of a watery landing. A digital camera, nestled in chemical hand warmers to keep it working at the frigid edge of space, took 2000 photos and a video during the 2.5-hour flight. All in all, Preah Atet weighed less than 1 kilogram and cost less than $1000, says Eduardo Jezierski, the chief technical officer of a local NGO and the mission's leader. Jezierski learned to construct the space balloon from reading Web sites and launching similar balloons with friends in America. But Cambodia presented unique challenges: For one thing, his team had to import approximately 6000 liters of helium from Vietnam. And the country's minefields, wet terrain, and limited cell-phone coverage and roads meant Jezierski's team had to be trained in land-mine safety and had to keep mountain bikes and an inflatable boat on hand to recover the vessel. (Luckily, the box landed in a tree, in a spot accessible by car.) After the flight, Cambodians in Phnom Penh were treated to a screening of the video during a performance of popular local band the Cambodian Space Project—whose tongue-in-cheek name suddenly didn't sound so absurd. “I never thought there'd be a space project [in Cambodia], not for a very, very long time,” says guitarist Julien Poulson. For video taken by Preah Atet, go to . [1]: pending:yes