The campaign is carried out using a Pitts aircraft from the Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub and will serve to validate two international research projects. One of these is Numerical Evaluation of Long-Term Microgravity Effects (NELME). This project aims to use simulations to provide accurate predictions of the effects that long-term microgravity exposure has on the cardiovascular system. Directed by Professor Antoni Pérez-Poch, coordinator of the activity and head of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC)’s Computer Science and Microgravity Lab, the study’s results will help formulate recommendations to improve cardiovascular health for astronauts on future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

While the effects of such exposure are known for missions of up to six months, there is currently a lack of data regarding the impact of weightlessness on longer missions. The study will also examine the potential impact of partial gravity on astronauts, such as on the surface of the Moon (one-sixth of Earth’s gravity) and Mars (one-third). Experimental measurements over shorter periods and more data regarding the effects on women are required to validate the model.

The second project, Gravitational Reliability And Vestibular Inference in Transient microgravitY, will study sensory perception and the effects of weightlessness on the brain. It will also allow for a comparison of these results with data collected under isolation conditions during the upcoming Hypatia III mission to the Arctic. The work is led by researcher Elisa Raffaella Ferrè, professor
of Cognitive Neuroscience and coordinator of the space neuroscience lab at Birkbeck, University of London.

Beyond the scientific scope, the campaign aims to promote STEAM vocations and a gender perspective within the aerospace sector.

Over the two days, six zero-gravity flights will be conducted in an aerobatic aircraft, performing approximately 15 parabolas per flight. Each parabola allows for 8 to 10 seconds of microgravity inside the cabin. Each flight will carry two people: the pilot, Daniel Ventura González, engineer and vice-president of the Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub, and a specialist in charge of the experiments. The specialists include nutritionist Abril Gorgori, who holds a master’s degree in Human Physiology and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Valencia, and five members of the Hypatia Mars team: Laura González, Carlota Keimer, Helena Arias, Núria Jar and Estel Blay, who is also a member of the IEEC and UPC alumni. 

The parabolic flights will also serve as a pilot test for the SpaceGenFish project, led by Dr Laia Ribas, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and a member of the Hypatia I crew. This project explores the feasibility of aquaculture in space, alongside the effects of microgravity and genetic changes in fish under these conditions.

A world-leading platform
Since the dawn of the space age, agencies such as NASA and ESA have used parabolic flights to train astronauts and conduct microgravity experiments.
The UPC is a pioneer and the only university in the world to have established, alongside the Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub, an innovative microgravity research platform. This allows for space experiments to be conducted at a lower cost than campaigns involving jet aircraft.

According to UPC researcher Antoni Pérez-Poch, coordinator of the activity, professor at the Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE), pilot and member of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC): “The research conducted by the UPC and the Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub in recent years allows us to perform microgravity experiments using an innovative platform open to the scientific community and our students.”

Estela: the Hypatia and parabolic flight mascot
In addition to the pilot and crew, the cabin will carry Estela, the Hypatia III mission mascot, which will act as the primary visual indicator of microgravity.

Estela was designed by 9-year-old Sofía Sebastián Loktieva, winner of a drawing contest organised by Hypatia Mars for children aged 6 to 12. From over 200 entries, three finalists were selected, and Estela was chosen through a public vote involving over a thousand participants.

The mascot serves a dual purpose: as a zero-gravity indicator during the flights and as a companion for the team during next summer’s Arctic mission.

For her prize, Sofía and her family will visit Sabadell Airport on 9 May to watch the flights, see the mascot take off and meet the Hypatia crew.

The Design a Mascot for Hypatia III contest was organised by Hypatia Mars with the collaboration of the UPC, the IEEC, Barcelona-Sabadell Aeroclub and Birkbeck, University of London.