Rollercoaster ride for student experiments

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to float in mid-air, like an astronaut on a space station? 15 university students from five European countries had the chance to find out when a new ESA educational programme got off to a flying start in early November.

‘Fly Your Thesis!’ gives students a unique opportunity to perform scientific experiments in near-weightless conditions, as part of their higher degree studies. The first student teams were chosen in January 2009. After months of hard work preparing their equipment, they arrived in Bordeaux, France, on 25 October. By 3 November, all was ready for the first flight on board the Airbus A300 ‘Zero G’ aircraft.

Over the next few hours, the aircraft headed out over the Atlantic Ocean and then began a series of 30 steep climbs and descents – just like a rollercoaster ride in a fairground. When it levelled off, everything inside the aircraft was affected by microgravity. For about 20 seconds the students and their helpers were floating. Then, when the aircraft began to plunge Earthward, the floating stopped and everything became heavier than normal.

The students enjoyed the same experience over the next two days. Fortunately, the experiments all worked well and they were able to obtain excellent data. All of them agreed that the experience had been 'awesome'.

'You first feel like you are being sucked down by the ground, even your face changes. Then, rushing into microgravity is like diving in a freezing cold pool: it leaves you breathless...' wrote the members of the UK-French team.