 Southeast New Mexico beautiful rugged terrain and open spaces dotted here and there with towns like Fort Sumner. The kid was shot and buried here over a century ago and folks joke that nothing's happened since. But actually every spring and fall Fort Sumner small airport becomes a base for scientific research. Investigators from around the world converge here bringing with them instrument packages weighing thousands of pounds. Their goal is to fly these large payloads 25 miles up near the edges of space gathering data about things like cosmic rays without the distorting effects of the atmosphere. NASA launches the instruments but not with rockets or planes. Even aircraft like the ER-2 can fly high or long enough and it's not cost-effective to put such large payloads aboard a shuttle. The alternative large helium filled balloons made of a special polyethylene that can withstand cold temperatures in the upper atmosphere. Fully inflated they can stand 900 feet tall about the height of the Eiffel Tower. Once a balloon rises above an instrument package it is released and the two begin their journey to 130,000 feet. Throughout a flight scientists and a NASA operations team track the payload continuously recording data it sends back. Because the instruments eventually returned to the ground recovery trucks are deployed. These crews often cover hundreds of miles a day following a balloon's path as closely as possible. Towards the end of a flight a small plane heads out and surveys potential landing sites for the payload. New Mexico offers plenty of unpopulated areas for safe touchdowns. Satisfied that no lives or property are in danger the air crew transmits a signal that destroys the balloon and the instrument package parachutes to the ground. Successful landings don't always mean easy recoveries. Getting transport trucks into the touchdown areas the first hurdle. Hauling out a three ton load without damaging it is another. Entry entangled parachutes can be a real challenge. But the people in the program pride themselves on good science at a reasonable cost and getting payloads back means they can fly again. NASA has been doing missions like this since the early 1960s. Although the balloons are larger and the equipment to launch them more sophisticated it remains a very reliable way to do studies in the upper atmosphere. It's also often the only way especially for universities and graduate students with limited budgets. NASA's balloon program over 25 years gathering science near the fringes of space.