SOUNDING ROCKET AND BALLOON ACTIVITIES AND RELATED RESEARCH IN SWITZERLAND 2011-2013

Swiss scientists working in the field of high altitude research were particularly active during the reporting period from 2011 to 2013. As in other years, their research included platforms such as sounding rockets, stratospheric balloons, and two high altitude stations, "Jungfraujoch" and "Gornergrat", which are located in the heart of the Swiss Alps. The intensified research activity of these scientists led to numerous publications in various disciplines, such as physics, astrophysics, meteorology, and biology/medicine. Several Swiss experiments were carried out on sounding rockets, such as "STIM", which was installed in a MASER rocket and launched in Sweden. The goal of the investigations was to further examine the mechanism of activation of human blood cells under microgravity conditions. Students from Ecole Polytechnique Federate de Lausanne (EPFL) were able to participate in another sounding rocket project called REXUS. The aim of their experiment was to test a new sensor technology designed to measure the altitude of satellites. There was also an increase in research activity at the high altitude research stations, which was primarily the result of two large medical examinations that started in the reporting period. The "Gornergrat" station underwent a transition into a public outreach center during the last few years. It is now open for educational projects in astrophysics at the high school level. A very short summary of a few Swiss projects within the framework of sounding rocket and balloon activities and related research carried out between 2011 and 2013 is provided in the following paragraphs.