Experience a parabolic flight with scientists exploring how time spent in space affects an astronaut's health

Six a.m., Bordeaux airport, and preparations are in full swing for an extraordinary trip - a parabolic flight that will render its payload weightless. In these zero-gravity conditions, medical scientists will conduct experiments to help them better understand how spending time in space affects the health of the astronauts. The co-pilot makes the final checks. In a few hours this Airbus will be put under more pressure than any commercial aircraft has ever experienced. The work in the cockpit is shared by a crew of three - this complex manoeuver wouldn't be possible otherwise.

At half past nine on the dot the doors are closed and there's no going back now. The Zero-G takes off in a closed off airspace over the Atlantic. There's still an hour to go before the first parabola. Then the test subjects on board the plane will experience weightlessness for 20 seconds. The test subject gets into position and is wired up. Each wire is checked three times. These sensors must prove what they're capable of before they can be used to monitor the health of astronauts in outer space. Today, the scientists aim to find out how liquid is distributed inside the body during zero gravity. These experiments are expensive - each flight costs several hundred thousand euros.

The countdown to the first of 31 parabolas has begun. Jean-Claude Bordenave pulls on the rudder, forcing the tail down and the nose up. Maximum thrust is achieved. The A300 races upwards at an angle of 47 degrees - that's three times as steep as the normal pitch angle flown by passenger aircraft. The acceleration causes a period of increased gravity. At two G, everything weighs twice as much as normal and every movement is a tremendous effort for the crew. The countdown continues. Then the tail is forced back up and the jet nosedives. Everything inside the plane is in freefall. For 22 seconds the aircraft doesn't exert any G-force on its contents - we have zero G. Then the pilot forces the tail down again, once more achieving maximum thrust. The Airbus gradually rights itself, and again the occupants have to tolerate an unpleasant two G. After 15 parabolas a second test subject relieves the first. Having to stand up throughout the experiment was exhausting and now it's time for him to relax.

Forty-five minutes and another 15 parabolas later, it's all over. Shortly afterwards, the Zero-G Airbus lands safe and sound back in Bordeaux. Now the data collected during the zero-gravity phases has to be analyzed, with the aim of improving conditions for the astronauts.