Hypogravity Research and Educational Parabolic Flight Activities Conducted in Barcelona: a new Hub of Innovation in Europe

Poch, Antoni Pérez; González, Daniel Ventura; López, David Cervera

doi:10.1007/s12217-016-9516-7

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…This kind of aircraft (Figure 1) is certified to conduct this manoeuvre and could also be used for professional experiments, testing technology and educational and outreach campaigns as well. Hypogravity is experienced within the cockpit for about 8 seconds with a flight profile significantly different from that of larger aircraft [4].…”

Section: Acronyms/abbreviationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…More than fifty students have already flown their experiments on board an aerobatic CAP10B aircraft in Barcelona in previous educational campaigns; having published their results in relevant symposiums and scientific journals [4]. These campaigns, inspired by the well-known ESA Student's Parabolic Flight campaigns, have attracted media attention and have promoted public awareness on STEAM studies as well.…”

Section: The Barcelona Zerog Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, students from our own University, have also the opportunity of designing and testing their experiments during their studies with a singular hands-on training and an introduction to space research [4,11]. Master and Doctoral Thesis are good frameworks to include students' advances and contribute to their graduation with a singular experience.…”

Section: The Barcelona Zerog Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Challenge-based learning and the Barcelona ZeroG Challenge: A space education case study

Poch¹,

Torner²,

Alonso³

et al. 2022

4th Symposium on Space Educational Activities

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Challenge-Based Learining is a STEM Education methodology that has been used as a collaborative and hands-on approach to encourage students to put their knowledge in practice by addressing real-life problems. Space Education is a field particularly suited to apply it, with hands-on research projects which require students to take actions and communicate their efforts in a multicultural, international scenario in order to produce an optimal response a specific goal. We herein present a successful Challenge-Based Learning Case Study which involves designing, implementing, and actually flying a microgravity experiment in parabolic flight. The Barcelona ZeroG Challenge is an international competition addressed to University students worldwide. It challenges students to build a team with a mentor, propose, design, build and fly their experiment in microgravity and finally communicate their findings. The experiment has to meet the requirements of a unique microgravity research platform available in Barcelona for educational and research purposes. More than fifty students have flown their experiments on board an aerobatic CAP10B aircraft in Barcelona in previous educational campaigns; having published their results in relevant symposiums and scientific journals. These campaigns have always attracted media attention. The current edition is underway with the winner team expected to fly their experiment before the end of 2022. This edition is jointly organized by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, the Barcelona-Sabadell Aviation Club and the Space Generation Advisory Council. Up to fifteen projects have been submitted to this edition, an unprecedent number so far. A panel of experts from the European Space Agency Academy conducted the selection of the winner team, who receives a 2500 euros grant to develop its experiment, aside from the opportunity to fly it in parabolic flight. Furthermore, students from our own University have also the opportunity of designing and testing their microgravity experiments during their studies. Principles of Challenge-Based Learning are herein described as well as how this methodology is applied to this Case Study. Results from our experience are very satisfactory as most of the students who have been involved in it perceive this experience as a boost for their careers. Three key factors to success have been identified: a strong involvement from students' associations, a need for international cooperation and the quality of the students’ mentoring. The experience can be of interest for other organizations to conduct a successful CBL educational project

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Section: Acronyms/abbreviationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: The Barcelona Zerog Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Barcelona Zerog Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Challenge-based learning and the Barcelona ZeroG Challenge: A space education case study

Poch¹,

Torner²,

Alonso³

et al. 2022

4th Symposium on Space Educational Activities

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…• a Cessna 206, which was tested in the frame of the MiGrOp project to be used for science experiments in Germany [21];…”

Section: Type Of Aircraft Used For Parabolic Flightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aircraft Parabolic Flights: A Gateway to Orbital Microgravity and Extra-Terrestrial Planetary Gravities

Pletser¹

2020

Preparation of Space Experiments

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Aircraft parabolic flights provide repetitively periods of reduced gravity whose duration depends on the target reduced gravity level and on the type of aircraft used. Typical durations for a large aircraft vary between approximately 20 s for a 0 g environment and 32 s for a Martian g level environment. Parabolic flights are used to perform short duration scientific investigations in weightlessness or at partial-g levels, to train astronauts, and to allow the general public to experience what astronauts' encounters in space during discovery flights. This chapter introduces the aircraft parabolic flights and presents their objectives, the parabolic flight manoeuvre and accelerations, the type of flights organised and a summary of the aircraft used throughout the world.

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“…Such analogues offer insight into multiple aspects of spaceflight, for example, human physiology [2][3][4] , materials performance 5 , and behavior of liquid propellants 6 . Parabolic flights also provide researchers of diverse backgrounds with otherwise unattainable access to a spaceflight environment, fostering future research interest in multiple aspects of space science [7][8][9] . Parabolic flights serve as valuable proving grounds for experimental efforts to maximize the research potential of the International Space Station 10,11 and to accommodate increasing interest in commercial spaceflight 12,13 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceleration profiles and processing methods for parabolic flight

et al. 2018

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Parabolic flights provide cost-effective, time-limited access to “weightless” or reduced gravity conditions, facilitating research and validation activities that complement infrequent and costly access to space. Although parabolic flights have been conducted for decades, reference acceleration profiles and processing methods are not widely available. Here we present a solution for collecting, analyzing, and classifying the altered gravity environments experienced during parabolic flights, which we validated during a Boeing 727-200F flight with 20 parabolas. All data and analysis code are freely available. Our solution can be integrated with diverse experimental designs, does not depend upon accelerometer orientation, and allows unsupervised classification of all phases of flight, providing a consistent and open-source approach to quantifying gravito-inertial accelerations (GIA), or g levels. As academic, governmental, and commercial use of space advances, data availability and validated processing methods will enable better planning, execution, and analysis of parabolic flight experiments, and thus facilitate future space activities.

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Hypogravity Research and Educational Parabolic Flight Activities Conducted in Barcelona: a new Hub of Innovation in Europe

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Challenge-based learning and the Barcelona ZeroG Challenge: A space education case study

Challenge-based learning and the Barcelona ZeroG Challenge: A space education case study

Aircraft Parabolic Flights: A Gateway to Orbital Microgravity and Extra-Terrestrial Planetary Gravities

Acceleration profiles and processing methods for parabolic flight

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