PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer)

This illustration shows NASA's PIPER instrument in shades of blue. Piper has a cage-like structure with a large cylinder inside of it and smaller boxes attached around it. Long thin support pieces extend from the body upward, which will attach the payload to a large balloon.
An illustration of NASA's PIPER instrument. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
NASA
December 20, 2022
CreditNASA
Historical DateDecember 20, 2022
Language
  • english

An illustration of NASA's PIPER instrument. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

PIPER is a balloon-borne payload that measures and studies the polarization of the cosmic microwave background and diffuse interstellar dust. PIPER will map 85% of the sky and enable scientists to look for signs of primordial gravity waves created by the rapid expansion of the universe shortly after the big bang.

Campaigns: 2017, 2019