Outreach

Barcelona Aerobatics Zero-Gravity Challenge

ISU students and winners of the Barcelona Aerobatics Zero-Gravity Challenge pose with pilot and aircraft
Parabolic flights on modified commercial jets are a well-established way of achieving up to 20 seconds of microgravity per parabola.  A number of experiments are tested in these large jet airplanes. This challenge was conducted using a much smaller plane and demonstrated up to 8 seconds of microgravity can be achieved with a light single-engine aerobatic plane. This enables easier access to microgravity research with a significant reduction in cost, compared with conventional parabolic flight campaigns. 1st edition of Barcelona Aerobatics Zero-Gravity Challenge took place on October 31st from the Sabadell Airport near Barcelona, Spain.

The ISU experiment entitled “Perspective-Reversible Figures in Parabolic Flight,” led by Space Neurophysiogist and ISU Professor, Gilles Clément, investigated the role of gravity on depth perception. Subjects were presented with ambiguous three-dimensional figures that can be interpreted in two different ways. The subject perceives one view, and after a few seconds, the view changes or reverses to the other view. The number of reversals was compared in normal gravity, microgravity, and hyper gravity. Preliminary results indicate fewer reversals in microgravity.

The Barcelona Aerobatics Zero-Gravity Challenge was organized by the Aeronautics and Space Research Center (CRAE) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). The contest, led by Professor Antoni Pérez-Poch of CRAE, challenged undergraduate and postgraduate students to design and build a zero-gravity experiment in a limited amount of time.
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