Holy cow! EVA hits the edge of space

Last week we reported on a toy cow mascot from Bay of Plenty IT company Enternet Online (EOL) which was set to ascend to the mesosphere. We're pleased to announce that EVA did indeed go where no cow has gone before, bringing back stunning images and footage of an expedition which launched from the Nevada Desert to the edge of space and back again.

EOL won a worldwide bid to send an object to the edge of space as part of a spaceweather.com supported initiative. The expedition saw a balloon capsule leave from Nevada on April 22nd (World Earth Day) to gather scientific data high above the Earth's surface.

Enternet Online’s Managing Director Terry Coles says the video is exciting to watch and at times dramatic  due to the remote landing of the capsule deep in Death Valley.

“The images of EVA our toy mascot cow are incredible. Due to the remote landing of the capsule after it descended back to earth the recovery team had possibly their most challenging recovery to date.”

To reach EVA and the data the recovery team had to go over a 6000 foot ridge of mountains in a remote corner of Death Valley national park. A GPS locator pinpointed EVA’s exact whereabouts in the fascinating Playa Racetrack where 'sailing' rocks move on their own, often travelling over a kilometre. The team has to get in and out in daylight as temperatures drop from as high as +50c during the day to -10c at night.

“On Friday around 11.30am we received word they had located EVA and the data. Even then they weren’t sure the video and images would be retrievable given the temperature extremes in Death Valley. But luck was on our side and today we received the video and images,” says Coles.

See more of EVA's trip here.