To test the recovery procedure, first, the team experimented by hiding the EDM on land. In a large game of hide-and-seek, Saulman would hide the small component for the recovery team to track. Through many iterations of the recovery test at Langley and in the surrounding area, the team was able to practice and verify their techniques and equipment for tracking and recovery.
Next, experiments moved from hide-and-seek to Marco Polo as they moved from land to the water. The team modeled their testing on how they expect the actual LOFTID EDM recovery will go, implementing flight-like technology and measurement techniques in the Atlantic Ocean for practice.
“When we turned on our tracking gear, we released a weather balloon with a relay,” said Robert Mosher from NASA Langley, lead for the EDM water recovery test. “Within about ten minutes, we had successfully locked onto a signal and received latitude and longitude coordinates.”