On January 28, 2023 a high-altitude balloon operated by China entered US airspace in Alaska. Over the next several days, it floated high across the country until it was eventually shot down and recovered by the US military on February 4.

There’s been a lot of controversy around this balloon. Who should have done what? And when? On Mission Daily, we aren’t concerned with political discourse. Instead, we wanted to know, why use a balloon in the first place?