---
title: "Guy Trying to Dim Sun Frets That US Will Shoot Down His Balloon"
description: "From hobbyists in Northern Illinois to the guys at Make Sunsets who want to dim the sun, it appears that balloon dudes across the US are living in fear. "
date: "2023-02-22"
modified: "2023-02-22"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/guy-dim-sun-us-shoot-down-balloon"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "geoengineering"
  - "make sunset"
  - "solar geoengineering"
  - "the digest"
---

# Guy Trying to Dim Sun Frets That US Will Shoot Down His Balloon

![From hobbyists in Northern Illinois to the guys at Make Sunsets who want to dim the sun, it appears that balloon dudes across the US are living in fear. ](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/guy-dim-sun-us-shoot-down-balloon.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty Images/Futurism\</em\>*

## Balloon Panic

The US Air Force has been shooting mysterious balloons out of the sky left and right over the last couple of weeks, a frenzied hunt stirred up by the [since-annihilated](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-balloon-back-us-missile>) Chinese spy balloon [first spotted](<https://futurism.com/china-says-spy-balloon-soaring-over-america-is-completely-innocent>) hovering over US territory in early February.

And apart from the resulting balloon carcasses scattered across the nation, there are some emotional casualties, too.

From [hobbyists in Northern Illinois](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/group-of-dudes-pentagon-may-have-shot-down-balloon>) to the guy who wants to dim the Sun, balloon dudes across the US are now living in fear.

"This is going to go fucking smoothly, maybe," Make Sunsets CEO Luke Iseman, the [guy who wants to geoengineer the Earth](<https://futurism.com/startup-releasing-chemicals-dim-sun>), [told *Time Magazine*](<https://time.com/6257102/geoengineering-make-sunsets-us-balloon-launch-exclusive/>), moments after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared him for the launch of three chemical-filled balloons.

Or," he added, "everyone's gonna say 'yeah, you should be fine,' and then we launch and a f\*cking jet comes and shoots it down."

## Shoot It Down

The chemicals — the star of the show being homemade sulfur dioxide **—** inside the balloons are designed to reflect the sun's UV rays back into the cosmos once released into the stratosphere, thereby cooling the Earth down below, a [highly controversial and unproven](<https://futurism.com/scientists-calling-dim-sun-geoengineering>) way to combat global warming.

But given the latest news, Iseman is clearly nervous that something bad will happen to his startup's balloons.

Considering that President Joe Biden brought out the big guns — namely an [F-16 fighter jet and Sidewinder missiles](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-force-missed-ufo-missile>) — to [gun down three unidentified objects](<https://www.airandspaceforces.com/f-22-shoots-down-high-altitude-object-over-alaska-origins-unclear/>) over the course of three days, Iseman's balloon anxiety isn't entirely unfounded.

There's also the reality that Make Sunsets has already gotten into trouble with the government of Mexico, which has made it clear that it [doesn't want](<https://futurism.com/mexico-bans-startup-geoengineering-experiments>) Make Sunsets balloons anywhere near its air space, banning the practice outright.

## Blessing in Disguise

That said, if the Make Sunsets balloons were to be destroyed, it wouldn't be a huge loss. The balloons are designed to explode on their own, releasing the chemicals in the process.

"Goes up, explodes, biodegrades, saves the world," Iseman told *Time*, explaining that none of the balloons are designed for recovery.

As for his last point, though, it's worth noting that many experts in the field, including Kevin Surprise, a lecturer on environmental studies at Mount Holyoke College, aren't nearly as optimistic.

"I have not seen a single person in the field say this is a good idea," Surprise told *Time*.

**READ MORE:** [*Exclusive: Inside a Controversial Startup's Risky Attempt to Control Our Climate*](<https://time.com/6257102/geoengineering-make-sunsets-us-balloon-launch-exclusive/>) \[*Time Magazine*\]

**More on Make Sunsets:** [*Mexico Bans Startup From Future Solar Geoengineering Experiments*](<https://futurism.com/mexico-bans-startup-geoengineering-experiments>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)