DYNAMIC ALTITUDE CONTROL SCHEMES FOR THE PICO-BALLOON PLATFORM

The Pico-Balloon Platform is a promising research platform for planetary and interplanetary exploration, based on lightweight balloons with small payloads. One of the limitations of the Pico-Balloon platform is the lack of control over the balloons. This manuscript explores 5 potential options for altitude control and investigates their performance relative to each other using simple first order approximations made using reasonable assumptions. The methods were then be compared to help determine the best altitude control method for real world experiments. This resulted in hydrogen generation to produce additional lift being the most practical option for near future experimentation.