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Man in Mexico salvages test balloon belonging to UA student

University of Arizona 1
Posted at 12:02 PM, Nov 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-03 07:39:11-05

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A businessman in Mexico has kept a University of Arizona researcher’s hope of getting back his solar-powered balloon from being deflated.

Tristan Schuler, an aerospace engineering student, told the Arizona Daily Star on Monday that his balloon became lost during a test flight Oct. 15 from Lake Havasu City. According to the attached GPS tracker, high winds swept the balloon across the border into a remote area of Sonora, Mexico. Schuler offered a $100 reward on various social media platforms for anyone willing to go retrieve it.

Aron Brown, a Rocky Point businessman, decided to try to find it. Brown was successful and retrieved its transmitter and other electronics.