ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan, along with ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański and member of the ESA astronaut reserve John McFall, took to the skies as part of ESA’s latest parabolic flight campaign. The three members of ESA’s newest astronaut class are experiencing weightlessness while gaining hands-on experience on Space Station research equipment, including the Biolab glovebox.
Parabolic flights create short bursts of microgravity by flying an aircraft in a curved trajectory called a parabola. During each of the 31 parabolas per flight, astronauts experience 22 seconds of weightlessness, simulating the conditions on the International Space Station.
Rosemary, who was selected as an ESA astronaut candidate in November 2022, completed her training and earned astronaut certification in April 2024, making her eligible for spaceflight assignments. This campaign marks an exciting opportunity for her to apply her skills in a space-like environment.
During this campaign, members of the ESA astronaut class of 2022 had the opportunity to work with two different ESA-developed gloveboxes: the Biolab and Microgravity Science Glovebox. In use on the Space Station, these gloveboxes enable astronauts to safely handle materials within a controlled, sterile environment—essential for conducting research in space.
Additionally, Slawosz had the opportunity to test Poland’s Microgravity Actuated Capturing Kinetic Instrument (M.A.C.K.I.), an innovative tool that could help capture space debris.
These activities during parabolic flight campaigns are helping ESA prepare astronauts for potential future space missions by familiarising them with the challenges of working in microgravity environments.