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GAPS
@gaps-experiment.bsky.social
I’m GAPS (the General AntiParticle Spectrometer), and I will soon fly on an Antarctic balloon mission to look for low-energy cosmic-ray antiparticles, helping us learn about dark matter! 🌌 https://gaps1.astro.ucla.edu/gaps/index.html
After 25 days and two full circumnavigations at high-altitude, GAPS has landed just miles from its launch point. GAPS Flight 1 is in the books!!
January 10, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Throwback Thursday to pre-launch times!! ⭐ GAPS has been in the air for over 24 days and nearly two full rotations!!
January 9, 2026 at 12:46 AM
A huge thank you to our many remote monitors all over the world for their diligent 24/7 watch over the past 23 days (and those to come). Here's a peak at some of their monitoring set-ups!
January 8, 2026 at 12:31 AM
GAPS has been up for over 22 days 👍😀
January 6, 2026 at 10:00 PM
21 days and still going strong !!
January 5, 2026 at 10:26 PM
20 days in the air!! 🗣
January 4, 2026 at 6:51 PM
19 days and counting! GAPS is about halfway through its 2nd rotation !! 🌀
January 3, 2026 at 4:44 PM
for those who don't know,, there's a surplus of snow and ice in antarctica! 🥶GAPS has been up for over 18 days now
January 2, 2026 at 11:23 PM
another behind the scenes photo and a happy new year!! 16+ days in the air 🎆
December 31, 2025 at 8:46 PM
the true secret ingredient of GAPS.. lots and lots of foam
15 days and counting!
December 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM
on-ice team working hard 😎 ... 14+ days in the air!
December 29, 2025 at 11:14 PM
the on-ice team celebrated the holidays in style... over 13 days in the air!!
December 28, 2025 at 10:16 PM
GAPS spotted by the on-ice team after a full circumnavigation around the south pole!! Merry Christmas to all our haters 🥳🌀
December 27, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Best Christmas present everrrr! GAPS has been up for over 11 days! 🎁
December 26, 2025 at 8:10 PM
GAPS has been up for over 10 days and has almost made a full circumnavigation!
December 26, 2025 at 1:35 AM
"So so tempting but I’ll stick with NZ thank you very much…" -CH
December 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Happy Holidays from GAPS! 🐧
December 25, 2025 at 1:40 AM
GAPS celebrates over 9 days in the air! and counting !!
December 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are key contributors to GAPS' success! 🎈Read all about it here:
www.infn.it/antartide-ga...
www.asi.it/2025/12/anta...
Antartide: GAPS vola alla ricerca dell’antimateria - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
www.infn.it
December 24, 2025 at 6:40 PM
GAPS has been in the air for over 8 days!! 🥳 Follow along with live updates at www.csbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon6...
December 23, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Take a peek into the Columbia Group and learn about the big picture of GAPS! Ft. PI Prof. Kerstin Perez, with cameos from grad student Kelsey Yee and undergrad Ben Rubin.

"Is This the Key to Unlocking the 80% of the Universe We Can’t See?"
news.columbia.edu/news/gaps-ba...
GAPS, a Balloon Experiment Pursuing Dark Matter, Launches in Antarctica
What is the nature of dark matter? A new experiment led by Columbia University physics professors aims to find out.
news.columbia.edu
December 23, 2025 at 8:37 PM
GAPS is up! The GAPS experiment launched into the sky this Monday, December 15th at  5:37am NZDT (11:37am EST), on it’s mission to probe the nature of dark matter through the hunt for cosmic antinuclei.
December 15, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The balloon is filled and coverage is live from the launchpad! 🎈

video.ibm.com/channel/nasa...
NASA CSBF
NASA CSBF @ video.ibm.com: . Science
video.ibm.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
GAPS needs to be compatible with the NASA/CSBF infrastructure that allows us to launch and communicate with our instrument while it is in flight. We first tested this on the ice with a compatibility test!
December 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM