Weightless in a research flight: New findings for cardiac medicine!

Weightless in a research flight: New findings for cardiac medicine!

As part of the 44th parabolic flight campaign of the German Space Agency (DLR), the novel research project ARTiFACTS was successfully carried out between June 11th and 13th, 2025. The aim of this campaign, which took place with an Airbus A310 ZERO-G, was to simulate the conditions of weightlessness, similar to those in space. Professor Dr. Dr. Urs-Vito Albrecht and Annabelle Mielitz from the OWL Medical Faculty carried out the experiment, which looked at gravitational interference signals when measuring cardiac functions. These glitches occur when sensors tilt in a gravitational field while they are completely absent in weightlessness.

Since they were first carried out in 1999, parabolic flights have developed into an established method for researching various scientific questions. During the campaign, which started from Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, the research team experienced a total of 35 minutes of weightlessness, spread over 31 parabolas per flight day. These flight maneuvers, in which the aircraft climbs steeply, reduces thrust and then “falls”, make it possible to create weightlessness for around 22 seconds.

Details of the ARTiFACTS experiment

As part of the ARTiFACTS experiment, four healthy volunteers were equipped with state-of-the-art 6-DOF sensors that are used to measure accelerations and angular velocities. These sensors, which have been attached to both the sternum and the apex of the heart, are small, lightweight and radiation-resistant, making them particularly suitable for use in space missions. A reference sensor was located on the aircraft floor.

The technology used, called “SpacePatch,” has the potential for non-invasive heart monitoring not only during long-term missions in space, but also for use in patients on Earth. The entire experiment was carried out by Professor Dr.-Ing. Ulf Kulau from the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH), while Professor Dr. Dr. Urs-Vito Albrecht acted as co-project manager. Team members Annabelle Mielitz and Kazi Rahman also contributed to conducting the experiment.

Further research projects and their significance

In addition to the ARTiFACTS experiment, ten different experiments were carried out by German research institutions during the 44th parabolic flight campaign. These include the ComFly experiment, which aims to prevent blood congestion in the body while flying, and an experiment that tests the integration of artificial intelligence to analyze results from complex plasmas. The DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics is working on the human sense of position in weightlessness, which should help improve motor accuracy when controlling robots.

DLR's regular parabolic flight campaigns are crucial for research in space conditions and allow up to 40 scientists to take part in up to 13 experiments per campaign. These structured flights not only provide a controlled environment for the experiments, but also the opportunity to expand knowledge about the effects of weightlessness on the human body and materials. astronews.com highlights that such experiments are essential steps for future long-term missions to the Moon or Mars.

DLR plans to continue carrying out national campaigns under reduced gravity in the future in order to further deepen the knowledge gained. How dlr.de As emphasized, parabolic flight research began in the 1950s with the scientists Fritz and Heinz Haber, and the technology has continued to develop since then.