10 years of Student Parabolic Flight Campaigns (SPFC): Return on Investment of the Project with Tangible and Intangible Results
- Paper ID
2609
- author
- company
European Space Agency (ESA)/ESTEC; International Astronautical Federation
- country
The Netherlands
- year
2005
- abstract
The ESA parabolic flight campaign contest for students has just blown out their tenth candle. Since 1994 many european students have been given the unique opportunity by ESA to test their projects and ideas in microgravity conditions, first on board the Caravelle and then the Airbus A300-0g. It is certainly an incredible adventure scientifically as well as humanly, but what happens afterwards? What do these privileged european students become? How is life after the parabolic flights? This paper will present the results of investigations into some illustrative examples of what they are doing now years after such an experience and it will expose their careers and achievements. The author of this paper will describe insights from her own experience, having participated to the 2004 edition of the contest and subsequently become the new coordinator of this year’s student campaign. Presenting to students some very interesting profiles of people who were once in their place could make them realize what great future they can have if they keep their motivation for space related projects. Some testimonies and diaries from people working all over Europe on space programs are already presented on our SPFC web page. In a second part this paper will focus on the public outreach of these 10 past years of campaigns. How have the European countries been touched by the students’ parabolic flight campaigns? Through which type of media (radio, TV, written)? Which public was mainly targeted? How many students were reached? In which disciplines? This enquiry will highlight the impact of all the communication around the event and help to increase the familiarity of the SPFCs for the coming years. The in-depth evaluation of the impact of the Student Parabolic Flight Campaigns will be systematically assessed in order to improve the promotion of future projects and broader understanding of hands-on education projects for students.