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Researchers from the Universit\u00e9 Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium and Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during\u00a0ESA\u2019s 86th parabolic flight campaign in May 2025.<\/p>\n
The international research team boarded the\u00a0‘Zero-G’ Airbus A300\u00a0with ultralight graphene aerogels, then hit them with light during zero gravity phases to observe their reaction under space-like conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside a vacuum chamber, a continuous laser beamed on three small cubes made of graphene aerogel. A high-speed camera recorded the action through glass tubes.\u00a0This video has been slowed down 10 times; each experiment run lasted 30 milliseconds.<\/p>\n
The effect of the laser during the microgravity phases was startling: the graphene samples shot forward instantly.\u00a0Another finding was the ability to control the propulsion by tuning the light beam. The stronger the laser, the greater the acceleration.<\/p>\n
Under Earth\u2019s gravity conditions, the aerogels barely moved at all. The results, published in Advanced Science<\/i>, demonstrate that microgravity unlocks the potential of light propulsion for graphene aerogels in terms of velocity, thrust and distance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n