What is Earth to Sky Calculus?

Earth to Sky Calculus is group of youths doing cutting-edge science in a little-explored realm 100,000 feet above our heads: the stratosphere. Several times a month, they send their experiments aloft using helium balloons to search for new life forms in the stratosphere and to monitor the effects of cosmic radiation on Earth’s atmosphere. Their efforts are 100% crowdfunded. Small business, non-profits, and small businesses “own” this research and are responsible for its advance.

Our History

The club was formed in 2010. It grew out of a Calculus and Quantum Physics class that Dr. Tony Phillips had been teaching to his daughter and classmates since 5th grade. By the time these students entered high school in 2010, they were tired of being lectured to and wanted to explore Nature in a different, more hands-on way.

So they began launching helium balloons. At first no one in the group, not even Dr. Phillips, knew how to do this. They taught themselves through trial and error, flying increasingly larger balloons high into the stratosphere over the remote Sierra Nevada mountains in California where they live. Rookie mistakes and the “freedom to fail” led to the best kind of unscripted experiential learning: the kind that cannot be found in textbooks.

Fast forward to 2018: The group has launched more than 250 research-grade balloons, and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus are widely recognized as leading experts in this type of exploration. Even NASA has visited the group’s launch site near Bishop, California to observe and learn from their procedures. Recent graduates of Earth to Sky have been accepted at Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Dartmouth, the Maritime Academy, UC Irvine, Babson College, Kings College (London) and other top-notch schools. Their college success is particularly remarkable considering the tiny size and remote location of their home town.

When Earth to Sky launches a helium balloon, it ascends to a realm often called “the edge of space.” At altitudes of 100,000 feet or more, the noontime sky fades to black, stars pop out, and meteors can be seen in broad “daylight.” Air pressure drops to 1% of sea level; and temperatures fall to -70 C or cooler. Meanwhile, as the surroundings darken and chill, the dose rate of cosmic radiation increases to 100x Earth-normal. These environmental conditions are akin to the surface of the planet Mars.

The balloons carry payloads focusing on three kinds of research: developing a biological radiation sensor, monitoring cosmic rays in the atmosphere, stress-testing Mars microbles.

How do we pay for all this?

Earth to Sky Calculus has no grants or government support. Each and every one of our flights is paid for selling the products we fly to the stratosphere sold in this store or by small contributions, usually amounting to no more than $500—the minimum cost to launch a flight. 

– Earth to Sky Calculus

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Star Trek Ornament — “Arena”

$134.95

No Trekkie Christmas tree is complete without The Arena Ornament. This rare Hallmark keepsake depicts the reptilian Gorn poised to deliver a death blow to Capt. James T. Kirk on the planet Cestus III. It’s a famous scene from The Original Series episode “Arena” first broadcast on January 19, 1967.

The ornament flew to the edge of space on June 14, 2024, onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon. It lingered in the stratosphere 111,549 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California for 3 hours while radiation sensors gathered data for a student science project. After the balloon exploded, as planned, the payload parachuted back to Earth, landing in Deep Springs Valley near Bishop, California.

The ornament comes with a Christmas card showing Kirk and the Gorn in flight, and certifying they have traveled to the edge of space and back again.

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Mr. Spock Space Ornament

$129.95

It’s the logical way to decorate your Christmas tree–with a rare Mr. Spock ornament. This one has been to the edge of space. On Sept. 22, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched Spock to the stratosphere on board a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, Spock floated 117,710 feet above the Vulcan-like desert east of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

During the 2.5 hour flight, Spock experienced temperatures as low as -57 C and air pressures less than 0.08% of sea level. According to the radiation sensors, cosmic ray levels were 100 times Earth-normal as the ornament reached the top of our planet’s atmosphere and touched the edge of space. After the balloon exploded (as planned), the payload parachuted back to Earth, landing in Death Valley Wash on the outskirts of Death Valley National Park.

The students are selling Spock ornaments to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the science officer in flight and telling the story of his trip to the stratosphere and back again.

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Capt. Kirk Space Ornament

$99.95

This ornament has gone where no Christmas decoration has been before–the stratosphere. On Oct 9, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched Capt. Kirk on board a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, he floated 109,620 feet above California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

During the 2.3 hour flight, Kirk experienced temperatures as low as -58 C and air pressures less than 0.09% of sea level. According to the radiation sensors, cosmic ray levels were 100 times Earth-normal as the ornament reached the top of our planet’s atmosphere and touched the edge of space. After the balloon exploded (as planned), the payload parachuted back to Earth, landing in the Inyo Mountains near Bishop, CA.

The students are selling Kirk ornaments to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the Captain of the Enterprise in flight and telling the story of his trip to the stratosphere and back again.