November 26, 2025
Space slime drama
Show HN: I turned algae into a bio-altimeter and put it on a weather balloon
Teen sends algae to edge of space; commenters split: cool hack or science fail
TLDR: A teen launched a weather balloon carrying glowing algae and beamed ultra-tiny images home. Commenters loved the multi-skill build but debated the science, saying UV might just kill the algae and asking for controls, while others joked the 18×10 pixel pics were the real achievement.
A high schooler named Andrew strapped lake algae to a weather balloon and tried to read altitude from its red glow. The crowd didn’t just clap — it argued. One camp cheered the hustle: teens in Hack Club turning wild ideas into real launches. Another camp went full lab-coat, warning “UV light kills algae,” and arguing the “bio-altimeter” might just be measuring how fast the algae dies, not altitude. Curious minds pressed for controls, shielding, and how the glow was actually measured, asking if ambient sunlight or blue light skewed the readings.
Then came the plot twist: Andrew beamed pics down by shrinking 1080p shots to 18×10 pixels over a low-power radio link. The comments exploded into memes — “postage stamps from space,” “yeet the pixels” — with some saying the compression stunt was the real star. The vibe settled here: systems engineering = chef’s kiss; scientific rigor = needs receipts. Praise flowed for wiring, radios, and edge ML (tiny AI on the device), while skeptics demanded a proper control sample and better data collection. And yes, there was pure wholesome energy too — the classic “Congrats!” that felt like a proud parent at the science fair.
Key Points
- •StratoSpore is a student-built high-altitude balloon payload to study algae fluorescence in the stratosphere.
- •The biological measurement uses an AS7263 sensor near 680 nm on an algae sample to detect fluorescence.
- •Altitude and location are recorded with a Neo 6M GPS module to correlate environmental changes with fluorescence.
- •Electronics include an Orpheus Pico for sensor I/O and a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for data processing, imaging, and LoRa telemetry.
- •PCBs for the payload were sponsored by OSH Park; the project was aligned with Hack Club’s Apex program announced in March 2025.