Piccard's Gondola. Original gondola used in Professor Piccard's second ascent into the stratosphere, 18th August, 1932.

This balloon gondola was used by Professor Auguste Piccard on his second altitude record-breaking ascent of 16,201 m (53,153 ft) using a hydrogen balloon. He was accompanied by M. Max Cosyns. On his first record ascent in 1931 Piccard, accompanied by Paul Kipfer, became the first humans to reach the stratosphere and see the curvature of the Earth. During both ascents Piccard conducted a range of scientific investigations including xcosmic ray measurement. This gondola was presented to the Science Museum in 1935. Piccard went on to adapt his gondola design for deep sea exploration.