A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
Tiny Micro-Chip Now
In The Ear: Available!
Now You See It...
Now You Don’t!
ou
Tibor Balint/NASA
An artist rendering from 2018 of a robotic balloon that could be part of a return to Venus.
• One of the smallest custom hearing
aids ever made
• 48 channel digital signal processing
• Digital engineering allows 1,000’s of
custom settings
• Controlled by state-of-the-art software
NASA selects Tillamook
company to design robotic
balloons for future trip
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
The space agency NASA has chosen a
small Tillamook-based aerospace company
to design and test robotic balloons for future
scientifi c exploration of Venus. Near Space
Corporation is working on the Venus project
with some of the same NASA team mem-
bers managing an historic helicopter drone
fl ight on Mars.
Near Space CEO Tim Lachenmeier said
his company hopes to test fl y a Venus explo-
ration balloon prototype on Earth in early
fall. Lachenmeier said the harsh operating
environment of Venus presents a diffi cult,
but fascinating technical challenge.
“Venus has a very hostile atmosphere,”
Lachenmeier said, noting the threat of cor-
rosion from sulfuric acid in Venus’s thick
clouds alongside hot temperatures. “Most
things you would build balloons out of
would deteriorate in a hurry.”
“There’s this battle between how robust
you make it,” Lachenmeier said. “If it is too
robust it won’t fl y. So, you have to kind of
fi nesse the actual design.”
Space probes previously sent to the
inhospitable surface of Earth’s nearest plan-
etary neighbor have measured hellishly hot
conditions before failing in short order.
Thus, the attraction of attaching sensors to
a “smart,” Tefl on-coated aerial platform that
could fl oat and ride on the winds in the rel-
atively balmy upper atmosphere of Venus.
“There is no commissioned mission for
a balloon at Venus yet, but balloons are a
great way to explore Venus because the
atmosphere is so thick and the surface is so
harsh,” said Jet Propulsion Laboratory engi-
neer Siddharth Krishnamoorthy in a NASA
web post. “The balloon is like the sweet
spot, where you’re close enough to get a lot
of important stuff out, but you’re also in a
much more benign environment where your
sensors can actually last long enough to give
you something meaningful.”
While the exploits of the Perseverance
rover on Mars understandably command the
gaze of space enthusiasts and NASA at the
moment, Venus could eventually recapture
a share of attention and money thanks to a
recent discovery hinting at possible micro-
bial life on Venus.
Last fall, researchers from Cardiff Uni-
versity in the United Kingdom announced
they detected the gas phosphine while
studying the Venusian atmosphere by tele-
scope. Phosphine is produced by microbes
living in harsh environments or in chemical
factories, the latter of which Venus doesn’t
have.
“Venus is suddenly taking a new and
more high level priority,” Lachenmeier
observed in light of the fi nding that life may
actually exist on the planet.
He guessed the yet-to-be-funded Venus
mission could launch in eight to 10 years.
If such a mission comes to be, it would fol-
low in the pioneering trail of the former
Soviet Union’s Vega balloons, two of which
probed the Venusian atmosphere in 1985 for
a few days each before their batteries died.
Lachenmeier said Near Space has won a
series of contracts and grants dating back sev-
eral years to work on the design and testing
of what they are calling Venus aerobots. The
most recent government award announced
a few weeks ago of up to $125,000 gives
the company six months to design a method
to insert and infl ate a balloon in the Venu-
sian atmosphere after it is dropped off by a
spacecraft. If NASA fi nds this work satis-
factory, the company can apply for follow
up funding to further develop and test its
balloon and sensor package prototypes.
Near Space has several decades worth of
experience in high altitude balloon opera-
tions on Earth and also operates the Tilla-
mook UAS Test Range. Besides NASA,
other clients of Near Space and the Tilla-
mook test range include the Department of
Defense, University of Washington, Boeing
and other private companies.
GLOBE
TROTTING
WITH CHEF SEAN
A ZOOM COOKING CLASS
AND FUNDRAISER FEATURING TAPAS!
Join Chef Sean Whittacker, winner of “Iron Chef Goes
Coastal” and learn the secrets to making scrumtious
tapas from around the world! Recipes Included!
$
30 Tickets
ou
Spaces are Limited
Call Today for your
FREE* Hearing Evaluation!
5 Days Only!
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur & Fri
Tillamook
Warrenton
2505 Main Ave N Ste. C
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-836-7926
173 S. Hwy. 101
Warrenton, OR 97146
503-836-7921
One More Thing
Some parts of the evaluation include the
use of a familiar voice, so please bring a
spouse or family member with you.
Call us today to confirm your
appointment time!
The Miracle-Ear Advantage:
$3,290
$
*
995
•
•
•
•
•
Receive 2 AudioTone™
Pro Hearing Aids at $995
for a limited time only.
*limit one coupon per patient at the promotional
price during event dates only. Not valid with any other
discount or offer. Does not apply to prior purchases.
Fits up to a 35 db loss. Offer expires 4/21/21.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee*
3-Year Limited Warranty**
FREE Lifetime Service
Over 65 Years in Business
Over 1,200 Locations Nationwide
Mention Code:
21APRTINY
Sold on: Facebook
Assistance League
of the Columbia Pacific
If you do not use facebook PLEASE send your $30 check to Assistance League of
the Columbia Pacific, PO Box 596, Astoria 97103 include your email address and
we will email the zoom link and information for the class!
Sunday, April 18, 2021 4:00pm
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:
PROVIDENCE HEALTH AND SERVICES; LUM’S TOYOTA, CHRYSLER, DODGE,
JEEP & RAM; COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL; TLC/FIBRE CREDIT UNION.
Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Clatsop Distributing Co., Pacific Power, Columbia River
Bar Pilots, Warrenton Kia, Nicolle Landwehr Financial Advisor, US Bank, Columbia
Bank, Twisted Fish, Finns and the Times Theater.
Most Insurance Plans Accepted
Including Blue Cross Blue Shield
* Pursuant o terms of your purchase agreement, the aids may be returned in
satisfactory condition within 30 days for a full refund. Fitting fee may apply.
** - Not valid on Audiotone Pro.