Field Trip Week, September 2025

We have now completed the Field Trip Week 2025
We have already started planning for next year's Field Trip!

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Program for the week

Saturday Aug. 30 at 10:00 - 12:00

Meet & Eat at Kaffekråa (the local coffeshop/bakery)

This was an informal and nice way to meet the team, the attendees and the locals.

Saturday Aug. 30 at 19:00

Campfire Gathering

People came as early as 18:00 and stayed until late. Lots of discussions around the fireplace. Really nice.

Sunday, Aug 31 at 12:00 - 14:00

Guided Tour along the blue line

Erling P.Strand explained the sightings along this route.

Monday, Sep 1 at 12:00 - 16:00

Guided Tour along the red line (to blue box and white box)

Erling P. Strand told the history of the blue box and Rainer Haseitl explained what is in the blue box now.

Tuesday, Sep. 2 at 17:00

Pizza & Perspective

It was nice to meet and eat - and we got some interesting presentations. These are on our YourTube channel.

Wednesday, Sep 3 at 10:00

Annual Meeting for Project Hessdalen

Recording of our meeting is available. Voting for members only.
Guests could and did join out annual meeting.

Friday, Sep 5 at 19:00

Campfire Gathering - Pizza Night

To cold to stay outside so we just ordered pizza to the Red Cross cabin.
Another long night with interesting conversations!

Later at night we went to the UFO Pub - and met locals :-)

Sunday, September 7th at 10:00

Wrap-Up

We only managed to deploy a few dataloggers, and these were collected at the end of the trip — along with a chance to say farewell and ‘see you next year.’

More about what we experienced during the week will come!

Some of the people you could have met:

Erling P. Strand

Team Member
Chairman of Project Hessdalen

Erling is one of the founders of Project Hessdalen in 1983.

Erling has set up and run the automatic station Blue Box in Hessdalen since its start in 1998. This task is now at Frank Gunnes Mikkelsen.

erling-strand.no/

Rainer Haseitl

Team Member
Our Gadget Guru and Tech Wizard

If Rainer is not testing out new equipment he is checking out the pictures from the BlueBox.

He made the system creating Stacked Images and automatically uploading every day.

Join the Field Trip to discuss with our problem solver ;-)

Scott Deschaine

Visitor during the Field Trip Week
Film maker

I would love to visit the Hessdalen Valley and possibly produce a documentary film about the phenomena, the people, the landscape, and your work, and to try to get good looks at the lights and their origins.

I promote and investigate the hypothesis that Earth's atmosphere is a habitat, and that many so-called UFOs may actually be creatures living there.

Not Alone: The Life Above

Megan Eaves

Visitor during the Field Trip Week
Author & Journalist

Travel writer and journalist Megan Eaves-Egenes is the author of Nightfaring: In Search of the Disappearing Darkness. An expert on dark skies, she will join the Field Trip week as early research for her next book about mysterious phenomena around the world and how the search for the unexplained is a fundamental aspect of human experience.

meganeaves.com/

Fred Pallesen

Team Member
CEO of Project Hessdalen

fred@hessdalen.org

Anna Scott

Visitor
UFO Investigator
/Researcher
/Experiencer

I've been to the valley for a week in 2022 and can't wait to return.

northlandmufon.com/

Eirik Rø

Team Member
Researcher/Experiencer

Looking forward to meet you all

Your Name

Visitor
Bio tagline

Do you want your name and description here?

Please send me a picture, a tagline and a short description.

You may add a link to your webpage

Goals for the Field Trip Week

For the project

Install new cameras and sensors

Get help from attendees
to carry out and set up the new equipment

IN CABINS AND HOUSES:

Install rooftop stations

IN THE BLUE BOX:

Test sensors

Test scientific cameras

For attendees

To join a field trip and hopefully see the Hessdalen light

To meet members of Project Hessdalen
and discuss the phenomena

To meet local people from the valley
and listen to their stories

Visit some of the places of famous observations

Visit the Blue Box

Visit some of the mountain tops

Objective

To develop a modern Anomaly Detection System (ADS) for Project Hessdalen by deploying compact, off-grid measurement stations with all-sky cameras and environmental sensors to detect and categorize anomalous events in real time.

Background

Project Hessdalen has operated an ADS at the BlueBox in Hessdalen since 1998. In September 2024, the system was upgraded with two Enhanced Night Color 4K cameras. The next field trip in September 2025 will serve as a testing ground for new cameras and sensors.

Phase 1 (2025): Proof of Concept (PoC) Plan

During this phase we aims to develop the basic structure for an effective ADS:

BlueBox 4G Node: With 4G we can transfer images and videos, and sensor data
The node would be connected to a battery pack and a solar panel for all year operation.

BlueBox LoRa Node: With LoRa Wan Nodes communicating with a BlueBox LoRa Hub that is connected to the internet,
we could deploy environmental sensors on a microcontroller for real-time anomaly detection.

During this phase we aim to gain experience from using existing off-the-shelf systems:

MUPAS: We have one MUPAS in Hessdalen.
We are testing another MUPAS Mini with the Microwave Spectrum Sensor Module and the Radiation Detector Module to be set up as a mobile unit: connected to a battery, solar panel and 4G router.
In addition, we have one MUPAS Biometric (watch) that can be worn on your wrist while taking a hike in the valley.

Systems we would like to buy: (donate to make it possible)

UFODAP: to recognize, track and record anomalous objects while simultaneously collecting data from multiple sensors
UFO/UAP Detector: Detects changes in magnetic, electromagnetic, and gravitational fields
RF Explorer: spectrum analysis

We would like your suggestions as to what kind of equipment we should test out.

night vision monocular: one that can be used manually or connected to a camera.

Buy or Build

What is available?
Why build when you can buy?

The BlueBox LoRa Network

The role of the central hub.
Multiple minimal nodes.

The BlueBox Mini

Self-contained mini ADS using 4G/WiFi.
A field- or cabin-deployable system.

The OpenADS Cloud

Making the data available.
A system to enable data analysis.

Each of these headline will soon get it's own page - describing that system.

Locations for new equipment

These are the locations we would like to put out BlueBox 4G Nodes:

We know that some of these locations may be within the Forollhogna national park - and we need to get permission to put out the equipment. We'll find out!

Rogne.
About 45 minutes walk from the monument.
Skarvan
About 30 minutes walk from Øyungen
Kåshøgda
About 30 minutes walk from Ystengsbekken
Mountaintop overlooking Forddalen
Maybe 1 hour walk and 1 1/2 hour drive
Mountaintop overlooking Ledalen
Maybe 3 hour walk and 1 hour drive
It was suggested to add one more location, in the middle - to cover all!

New Anomaly Detection Systems

All systems, whether temporary or permanent, require
waterproofing, condensation management and temperature control.

Why not make permanent solution?

We initially planned to build small systems to record a five-day time-lapse of the sky during the field trip. However, since any system requires waterproofing, condensation management, and temperature control, why not design permanent stations that can remain on mountaintops year-round?

Instead of dismantling everything after just five days, we could invest in long-term solutions. While permanent stations would require additional equipment—such as solar panels, batteries, and a larger enclosure—they would eliminate the need for frequent redeployment. Although carrying the equipment up the mountains, securing it against wind and weather, and performing maintenance would be demanding, the effort could be justified by the long-term benefits.

The added weight of a permanent setup might require just two additional team members or an extra trip to transport everything. Given the advantages of continuous data collection, this could be a worthwhile trade-off.

Off-Grid Power & Internet Hub

We need different configurations for the ADS stations: they all need a solar panel and a battery and a 4G/5G internet router. Some need more power - some less. We need to calculate the energy needed - and build some Off-Grid communication boxes.

Off-Grid Mini Hub

The Mini Hub should be able to work as a waterproof enclosure for a microcontroller with a number of sensors sending data over the internet

- or -

The Mini Hub should work as an enclosure for a MUPAS system that will work as a mobile system.

Goal: Mupas systems

Make or buy?

Can we use MUPAS?

Is the best way to get data to just find a system and deploy it - everywhere?

We do not have to create this!
With sensors for:

Microwave signals ranging from 700 MHz to 6 GHz
Gamma ray signals ranging from 0.05uSv/h to 10mSv/h at 0.01cpm to 300Kcpm (sensor available separately)
3-Axis MEMS Accelerometer +/-2g
3-Axis MEMS Magnetometer XYZ +/-1200 µT
3-Axis Gyroscope +/-250◦/S
Gravity vector sensor
Acoustic energy sensor 60dB gain
Humidity sensor +/- 3% accuracy
Barometric pressure sensor +/- 1 hPa accuracy
Temperature sensor +/- 1◦C accuracy
MOX sensor for hydrocarbon gas detection
GPS sensor -165 dBm sensitivity
Microwave Spectral Sensor (available separately)

MUPAS even have an online portal and a notification system.

experiencer-studies.com/store

What are the Pros and Cons
of using this system?

Goal: Mobile Mupas systems

How to get

Sensors all over the valley

Hidden in a "rock"?

Is it possible to put sensors in a "rock" with solar panel - to work all year? (or close to)

How can we create this?
What sensors do we need:

Compass
Humidity
GPS
(what more?)

We would need help to

make this system
store the data
analyze the data
make an alert system

We could make this kind of "rock" ourselves, by using some boxes, chicken wire, concrete and creativity!

Goal: Test scientific cameras

Downsides of current cameras: compression and dynamic range

We have and can get some scientific cameras - but we need to figure out how to build a waterproof enclosure and cable mount.

We need to attach the cameras to the mast and test the software for the cameras in the Blue Box.

We need to evaluate the best camera setting and create and test a trigger system.

Meeting minutes: from February 5th (public meeting)

The Field Trip Week 2025 will be
from August 30 (Saturday) until September 7 (Sunday).

This year, people must take responsibility for their own transportation to and from their accommodation and to the mountain hikes they choose to go on.

Unless you are volunteering for a specific task that requires your presence all week, people are welcome to come for just a weekend or a few days.

We will coordinate where and when we meet and where the different groups go and what they do - on discord

We are planning for cameras that can record a 360 view time lapse for 5 days (one image every three seconds) in a number of locations.
See "5 days time lapse" below for details.

We are planning for trail cameras / wildlife cameras along the river.
See "wildlife cameras" below for details.

We hope to test some Scientific Cameras ...

We should try to set up some Mupas systems in some cabin or houses (where there is power and internet)
See "Mupas systems" below for details.

We should try create a Mobile Mupas systems to be place out in the wild (with power from solar panels and batteries and a mobile internet connection)
See "Mobile Mupas systems" below for details.

Meeting minutes: from February 12th (internal meeting)

We should prioritize equipment that could operate all year, not only during the Field Trip Week - because a lot of the work will be to create a weather proof casing with a power station (solar + battery) and internet connection.
Why not just set this as a goal.

Then we had a number of stations: rooftop / backpack / mountaintop - that we hope to build and test - before we get to the valley (at home) and then stress-test during the field trip.

This will be presented during the next Monthly Status Meeting ...

Meeting minutes: February 19th (monthly status meeting)

See the recording! and check the slides with notes.

FTW25 Goals

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