Brown physics faculty, students head to Antarctica to assist with NASA exoplanet research mission

By viewing the planets through full orbits, scientists can get a fuller picture of their atmospheric dynamics, including wind speeds and chemical compositions. This will be Tucker's fourth Antarctic trip. He was there for two previous balloon missions and a ground-based experiment at the South Pole.

"The scenery is great, if you like ice," he said. "There's some wildlife, basically penguins, whales, seals and skuas, which are like seagulls - very aggressive seagulls."

It will be the first Antarctic expedition for Klangboonkrong and fellow graduate student Caitlyn Altermatt, who is also a member of the EXCITE team. A third graduate student and team member, Oliver Carey, will monitor the mission from back home in Providence.

"I'm very excited to go," Altermatt said. "I'm a winter person and an optimist, which helps. I have a pair of cross-country skis that I'm packing, so between the science and the opportunities for recreation, I'm ready."

If all goes to plan, NASA will retrieve the telescope and all its on-board data and instruments shortly after the mission. There's a chance, however, that the balloon could land further from its intended touchdown area than expected. If that's the case, the team may have to wait until next year to get it back, Tucker says.

Either way, the telescope will transmit data throughout the mission, so the researchers are confident that it will provide new insights into giant planet formation and the evolution of their dynamic atmospheres.