O-ZONE: CFCs and PM dynamic sampling in the stratosphere

Air pollution is an increasingly debated and relevant topic; natural disasters such as those that have occurred in recent years define the need to study and intervene for environmental protection. To date, atmospheric studies are mainly satellite-based and static at ground level. O-Zone Team was set up based on this state of the art to encourage technological development regarding dynamic sampling analysis. In this context, the O-Zone experiment aims to study air pollutants of anthropogenic and natural origin through an affordable and easily reproducible device that can quickly intervene in the study of restricted areas. O-Zone was selected for the BEXUS project, cycle 30-31, to launch on a stratospheric balloon in September 2021. The experiment collected, at different altitudes, the atmospheric air, trapping, with a system of filters, the solid particles and various gaseous substances including pollutants as CFCs and PM. This paper presents the architecture of the O-Zone experiment and an overview of the concept and design of the experiment up to its last and current version, which has been used in the launch campaign. The experiment's working principle are illustrated, along with the design and assembly phases following the typical milestones of a real space mission scenario. Studies about new mechanisms, problem-solving, and backup solutions are introduced as part of the lessons learned during the entire program. In particular, the issues the team had to face during its development and the results obtained both at its pre-launch status and post-launch results are presented.