Under a semi-commercial agreement a cryogenic sampler payload weighing 405 kg developed by ISRO was launched successfully this morning (April 29, 1999) at 04:50 hours from National Scientific Balloon Facility of TIFR, Hyderabad,employing a 1,50,000 cubic meter balloon.

It may be noted that ISRO has developed an advanced technology cryogenic sampler payload for measurement of substances that deplete earth's ozone layer in the stratosphere as also greenhouse warming substances in the Troposphere. India is one among the few countries in the world to develop and successfully employ this advanced cryogenic technique. This instrument enables measurement of most of the ozone depleting substances contained in the Montreal Protocol to which India is a signatory.

Most of the ozone depleting substances are produced and released into the atmosphere by the developed countries while India's contribution towards these adverse effects is less than 0.1%. However the atmospheric dynamics are such that the abundances of these substances in the tropical region is an index of global ozone destructive potential of these substances.

Learning of the specific advantages of the ISRO's cryogenic techniques, the Max Planck Institute of Aeronomy, Gottingen approached ISRO/ANTRIX for making available the sophisticated instrumentation for ozone depletion studies on semi-commercial basis. The launch was successful in all respects.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Bangalore, Kerala Hi Tech Industries at Thiruvananthapuram, Bharat Electronics, Bangalore together with a few other industries participated in the fabrication of this instrument designed by ISRO.

More requests have also been received by ISRO for providing this cryogenic sampler payload expertise for conducting scientific investigations in atmospheric sciences and other areas.