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AstroAccess Announces Second Zero-Gravity Parabolic Flight

AstroAccess Announces Second Zero-Gravity Parabolic Flight

In 2021, LightHouse partnered with SciAccess Initiative for the launch of a new program, Mission: AstroAccess. Last October twelve people with disabilities took a series of zero-gravity parabolic flights, to conduct a series of tests to answer basic questions about how disabled people can safely and accessibly live and work in space. Four of the ambassadors on that inaugural flight were blind. Now AstroAccess is recruiting people with disabilities, including those who are blind or have low vision, for a second parabolic flight.

AstroAccess is an organization dedicated to promoting disability inclusion in space exploration and will be flying a second cohort of Disabled Ambassadors on a zero-gravity flight to experience weightlessness and investigate microgravity accessibility solutions. AstroAccess Flight 2 will take place on November 19, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 
You are eligible to apply if you are blind or have low vision, DeafBlind, Deaf or hard-of-hearing, have a developmental or neurodivergent disability, have a mobility disability, multiple disabilities, and other non-listed disabilities. You must be 18 years of age or older, use English or American Sign Language (ASL) and be a resident of the United States.

“We are so excited to make our official announcement of AstroAccess Flight 2 – our second fully chartered Zero-G flight,” says Anna Voelker, Executive Director of AstroAccess and SciAccess, Inc.
 
AstroAccess Flight 2 plans to include a combination of new and previous Ambassadors. Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen who is blind is an AstroAccess Flight 1 Ambassador and member of the leadership team, said, “I am so excited to welcome new Ambassadors into our team. I look forward to working with them on new experiment tasks based on our learnings from Flight 1, which was a life-changing experience for me.”

The application to be a Flight 2 Ambassador will be open until June 3, 2022. Submit your application now at https://astroaccess.org/apply-now/
 
More details about AstroAccess can be found on our website at https://astroaccess.org/.