Vibrant images from Malta’s space balloon, the Stratos-1, have started emerging and show the first-ever shots of the island from the stratosphere.

Once the balloon was let off from Esplora, at Villa Bighi on Friday evening, the team of scientists headed off with the AFM into the dark seas and successfully retrieved the cameras that landed just off Filfla.

Kristian Zarb Adami, founder of the Institute for Space Science and Astronomy (ISSA), said: “This has been an exciting moment for the team.

“We are happy that our predicted flight path was very close to the actual one taken by the balloon, giving us confidence both in the flight simulation models as well as in helping us to locate the high-resolution cameras.

“From a scientific point of view, the work starts now and we will be analysing the data and, following similar launches, we will be able to start piecing together a picture of the atmospheric and maritime conditions around the Maltese islands.”

Historic journey brings to life the character of Sara the Scientist

To give a sense of the height that the balloon reached, Zarb Adami explained that while drones usually flew about half a kilometre above ground and commercial planes went as high as 10km, a space balloon could provide an altitude niche of up to 40km where the stratosphere could be studied.

On Friday, the Stratos-1 reached an altitude of 31km above Malta before bursting due to the pressure difference between the balloon and the stratosphere.

After a successful deployment of the parachute, the cameras started their descent taking a flight time of just under three hours.

A photograph of the horizon as seen from the stratosphere.

The launch had been delayed slightly after the first balloon detached from the parachute. A second attempt then required fresh clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure the balloon did not fly into the path of any overhead aircraft.

The event follows the signing of a collaboration between the Research and Innovation Ministry and the University of Malta, through ISSA, to make space more accessible.

Research and Innovation minister Owen Bonnici said: "This space-related research project marks a commitment towards this sector, not only in the scientific research field, but also as a stepping stone towards attracting foreign and local talent to work in this sector. Together with experts in the field, the government is putting together a space strategy to implement a framework in which a space ecosystem can grow and flourish.”

The balloon after it was let off on Friday.

Besides the research aspect, the ministry has also sponsored a space start-up competition to help small and medium enterprises to participate more actively in the space sector.

This historic journey also brought to life the character of Sara the Scientist, who is curious to get a better understanding of the island’s plants and surrounding seas and to grasp the amount of dust hovering over Malta, among others.

Zarb Adami said: “We want Sara the Scientist to become a role model here and inspire young children, girls in particular, to embark on a career in sciences, while evoking their curiosity about our celestial wonders.”