The flight was promoted by the Portuguese space agency Portugal
Space, as part of the "Zero-G Portugal – Astronaut for a Day"
initiative, which aims to stimulate the interest of young people in space.
The plane, an Airbus A310, owned by the French company
Novespace, which operated the flight over the Portuguese coast, in a reserved
area of airspace, performed ascent and free-fall maneuvers (parabolas) that
allowed to simulate the absence of gravity inside it for brief cycles, in which
the passengers felt so light that they could do somersaults in the air.
Parabolic flights are practically the only means on Earth
capable of reproducing the effect of the absence of gravity or microgravity,
which only exists in space and is only felt by astronauts.
The young people, students between the ages of 14 and 18,
were selected after qualifying tests and after landing they will receive a
participation diploma.
The flight also allowed passengers to feel the effect of
gravity on Mars and the Moon, but also the hyperactivity in which people feel
heavier to the point where they can't even lift an arm when lying on the
ground.
Dozens of relatives of the young people watched the take-off
and landing of the airbus A310 in a hangar at the air base near the runway.