first donut in outer space (Photo : Facebook)
Only one donut is truly out of this world. Two Swedish brothers have launched a frosted donut to around 20 miles (32.2 km) above the world's atmosphere. They also connected cameras to a vessel, to film the pastry's historic flight into outer space and back.
The brothers, Benjamin and Alexander Jönsson, sent the sprinkled donut into space on April 8. Alexander said that he wanted to do what "nobody" had done yet. So he chose a donut.
The Jönsson brothers are hobbyists who started the science group Stratolys. They used the group to support their donut in space project.
Alexander says that he is "really into" photography and outer space, according to The Local. He used to experiment with weather balloons while still in school.
The vessel was fairly basic, and included a Styrofoam box, a few cameras, and a GPS tracker. The donut received a coat of enamel paint and was attached to a glass plank. Amazingly, the total cost of the Jönsson brothers' project was $1,134.
The donut's 84-minute flight was powered by a helium weather balloon. While the brothers are from Sweden, they actually launched the donut from neighboring Norway since the permit there was free. The price of a Swedish permit, $1,245, would have been costlier than the project itself.
After the donut returned to Earth's atmosphere, it was collected after landing in Vänern, Sweden's biggest lake, according to Huffington Post. Alexander explained that the Swedish Sea Rescue Society helped them to "get it back." However, it was soggy and crumbled.
The brothers' video of their experiment has gone viral in their homeland Sweden. This has made the siblings into YouTube stars.
The sprinkled donut is not the only odd item that has been launched into space. Some other past objects include pizza, Luke Skywalker's light sabre, and even a Beatles song.
The Swedish brothers have not announced what the next plans for Stratolys will be. However, as Alexander explained, how could they "top a donut?"
