POEMMA-Balloon with radio: A balloon born Multi-Messenger Multi-Detector Observatory

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is a proposed dual-satellite mission with the goal of observing Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) to increase the statistics at the highest energies and Very-High-Energy Neutrinos (VHENs) following multi-messenger alerts of astrophysical transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave events, throughout the universe.

POEMMA-Balloon with radio (PBR) is a small-scale version of the POEMMA design, adapted to be flown as a payload on one of NASA's suborbital Super Pressure Balloons (SPBs) circling over the Southern Ocean for up to 100 days after a launch from Wanaka, New Zealand.

The main science objectives of PBR are: (1) to observe UHECRs via the fluorescence technique from suborbital space; (2) to observe horizontal high-altitude air showers (HAHAs) with energies above the cosmic ray knee (E>3PeV) using the optical and radio detection for the first time; and (3) to follow astrophysical event alerts in the search of VHENs.

This overview will provide a brief summary of the mission with its science goals, the instruments and the current status of PBR.