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Der Schweizer Wissenschaftler Auguste Piccard und der belgische Physiker Max Cosyns sind nach ihrem Ballonflug in die Stratosphaere im August 1932 am Gardasee inmitten einer Plantage gelandet. Piccard und Cosyns stellten mit ueber 16'000 Metern einen neuen Hoehenrekord auf. (KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Es) Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard and a Belgian physicist landed after their record balloon flight to the stratosphere in the middle of a plantation near Lake Garda, Italy, pictured in August 1932. Piccard and Cosyns reached an altitude of 16'200 m on August 18, 1932. Auguste Piccard (1884-1962) was a physicist, inventor and explorer. An interest in ballooning and a curiosity about the upper atmosphere led him to design and construct a spherical, pressurized aluminum gondola which would allow him to ascend to great altitude without requiring a pressure suit in 1930. Piccard and a Belgian engineer reached a record altitude of 15'785 m on May 27, 1931. During this flight, Piccard was able to gather substantial data on the stratosphere. In the mid-1930s, Piccard's interests shifted when he realized that a modification of some of his atmospheric balloon concepts would allow to descend into the deep ocean and he designed a small steel gondola to withstand great external pressure. Piccard and his son built the improved Bathyscaphe Trieste in 1953. (KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Es)