Lumia 920 sent into space, 1,000 Euros reward for locating it

Finnish retailer Verkkokauppa has sent a Lumia 920 into space attached to a balloon. The company decided to see how far the device could reach until the balloon burst for it to then travel back down to Earth. The Windows Phone managed to achieve a height of 30km, spending more than 27 minutes in sub-zero temperatures. 

Encased in a special container, the device made it back to sea level and was recovered by the launch team. However, it has been revealed that numerous Lumia 920s were sent up into the air. Unfortunately the team hasn't had much luck locating a second Lumia 920. This is where a 1,000 Euros offer comes into play. Whoever can find the missing Windows Phone and contacts the company will receive the reward.

According to a Facebook post, the handset's last known co-ordinates were:

  • Latitude: 61.324573
  • Longitude: 27.734175

Using Google Bing Maps, this location is in Finland (we do not recommend the use of Maps in iOS6) where the Lumia 920 is likely situated on water. Should you happen to locate the missing device, be sure to contact the number on the container, or take a photo and send it to kisa@verkkokauppa.com.

The Lumia 800 was previously sent up into space by a team of UK scientists at the University of Southampton, which reached 32km and was airborne for 2 hours and 22 minutes. It seems Nokia Windows Phones are sturdy machines when it comes to being fired up into orbit. Perhaps we'll see a HTC device replace the unmanned space exploration robots? At least -should we meet any unknown life forms- they'll have a decent smartphone to play with.

Soure: Facebook (Verkkokauppa); thanks, Jukka Rautanen, for tipping us!

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

34 Comments
  • "Using Google Maps, this location is in Finland"
     
    You should be using Bing or Nokia Maps!
  • Thank you. My thoughts exactly.
  • They don't recommend ios6 maps
  • :)
  • Now it says "Google Bing Maps" which confuses me even more :)
  • Totally!!! Agreed with willied
  • Gah if only I had a private jet and then an private boat to go find that sucker. But then in that case I wouldn't need the 1000 euros lol
    *troll meme*
  • Why can't they just use the "Find my phone" feature on the live.com site when they log into their Microsoft account?
  • Didn't you just hear? Its probably submerged in water. It won't be on for that long and its wouldn't be connected, either. Not in the sea at least.
  • Unless the Lumia 920 can float. I haven't seen any video yet proving that Lumia 920 isn't able float above the water :D
  • I hope they won't fall on anyone.
  • Sorry for my ignorance, but can I ask what is the lab of sending encased phones to space be useful for? Anyone have an idea on what theories are they testing or what are they trying to find out by doing this? It is an honest question. Thanks!
  • Marketing.
  • The comment about the IOS6 Maps made me chortle heartily
  • So...what did they learn from throwing a 920 into space? How does that advance science?
  • I would probably say an infinite amount more
    then the people writing fart apps and the people using them
  • Its akin to model rocketry. You don't really do it other than enjoying it and doing something cool. It requires planning and know how. The imagery we get back can be amazing too. Its just our nature to explore. :)
  • if they can throw it into space, why not? Sometimes, that's just how science works, doing things just for the heck of doing it.
  • I think they misunderstood when they were advised to backup their phone in the cloud.
     
  • @MarkAllett
    LOL!!!
  • Bahahaha!
  • pfffff hahahahaha
  • Still trying to trick ATT into giving me an early upgrade -_-  They're dropping the phone out the sky and I can't get my hands on one, bs.
  • I thought PhoneBuff was done with their Lumia 920 torture test...
  • Oh so the phone was found then. I can imagine some iOS users still searching ... badam pum pshhhhhh
  • Given the many comments related to the weight of the Lumia 920 isn't this experiment rather dangerous? Such an impact could cause a crater that starts a second ice age!
  • why the heck HTC was mentioned?!  i get the feeling someone's being paid by HTC. oh please.
  • We mention other Windows Phones so we're not branded "NOKIACENTRAL", but when we mention other hardware we're accused of being funded by said companies.  I give up.
  • Don't worry about fools like Rowell. We can't all be intelligent.
  • And it's not even the 21st of December. Eager to end the world, are we?
  • Yeah, SkyDrive is ok, but why try to connect via NFC...
  • It probably landed at Gilligan"s Island lol....
  • The Lumia 920 survives another drop-test.
  • where can we go and watch the video recording?