New Mexico State University scientists have set in motion a NASA balloon from the McMurdo Station in Antarctica for a record-setting flight. The university stated that the balloon is the biggest successful single cell super pressure balloon ever released to the air. The balloon has been flying at an altitude of about 110,000 feet since being launched nearly a month to the day.

Researchers say the next generation of super pressure balloons will be able to fly for a longer mission duration and carry heavier data gathering instrumentation. The university’s Physical Science Laboratory manages the $238 million NASA contract for the operation, maintaining and engineering support for the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. The facility releases between fifteen and twenty balloons each year from sites in New Mexico, Sweden, Antarctica, South American and Australia.