Media Lab SEI Zero Gravity Flight (May 2024)

On May 14 this spring, the MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) hosted its sixth annual reduced gravity flight, offering researchers from across MIT and other institutions the special opportunity to test multiple projects in microgravity environments. The research on board investigated topics from potential medical device design, insulin pumps, and disinfectants in microgravity—helping promote accessibility and safety of spaceflight—to wireless sensor nodes for lunar exploration and zero gravity friendly board games.

A total of 15 projects and 25 flyers launched into the sky from Pease Airport (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) aboard this recent flight. But this year, the flight featured an additional seventeen parabolas—beyond the normal twenty—as the pilots completed additional training. “Meaning everyone got a chance to put down the science for a moment and truly embrace the extraordinary feeling of being weightless.”—SEI Director Cody Paige.