The AirCore is an innovative, yet simple, atmospheric sampling system that can sample the atmosphere from the middle stratosphere down to the surface. It is made up of a long piece of tubing, usually wound into a compact coil, and is launched on a balloon designed to go to approximately 100,000 feet above the surface. One end of the tubing is closed while one end (the inlet) is open, so as the balloon ascends and the atmospheric pressure drops the pressure in the AirCore becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure and fill gas used to prep the AirCore for flight flows out of the tubing. When the balloon bursts or is cut away, the AirCore starts its journey back to Earth on a parachute. As atmospheric pressure increases during the descent, air flows back into the AirCore. When the AirCore lands, a valve automatically closes the AirCore inlet to preserve the sample.
