Researchers are reportedly planning to take a glider aircraft up to the hole in the ozone layer, which is at such a high altitude that airplanes cannot reach it.
Researchers are reportedly planning to take a glider aircraft up to the hole in the ozone layer, which is at such a high altitude that airplanes cannot reach it.
The glider aircraft, known as Perlan II will cost around 7 and a half million dollars when it is completed and ready for its planned departure date in August of 2015.
It will fly in Argentina, where powerful winds from the Pacific Ocean meet the Andes Mountains and create a standing wave of wind with updrafts that can reach speeds of 30 feet per second.
Scientific instruments will be used to take measurements for atmospheric research.
They are also trying to set a new record for the highest altitude reached by a glider, at around 90 thousand feet.
The record was previously set by Perlan I at over 50 thousand feet back in 2006.
There are many challenges that surround the high altitude glider flight including air pressure, speed, and dangerously low oxygen levels for the pilots who will be placed in the fuselage of the aircraft that has a diameter of only 36 inches.
