Fieldwork at Novespace | Weightlessness Flight

– Extraterrestrial Anthropology

In March 2022, as a resident researcher in weightlessness in the Observatoire de l’espace (Space Observatory) within the CNES, the Centre national d’études spatiales (the French space agency), I realized within Novespace (part of CNES) a second ethnographic field, for my program Extraterrestrial Anthropology.

• The first fieldwork was held in October 2019 at Novespace (Mérignac, Bordeaux Airport, France), with the classical methods of anthropology, but over a short period of time: a flight campaign (two weeks). The first week is dedicated to the technical preparation of the experiments to be carried out on board by the various scientific teams and the second to the parabolic flights themselves.
• The second fieldwork took place in the same way in March 2022 (leaving aside the period of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic). With the notable difference that this time, I was able to carry out a participant observation: not only by taking GoPro cameras on board the plane to film (and then to watch with the experimenters their “situation” in weightlessness in order to go beyond the unspeakable experience of weightlessness), but also by taking part in one of the parabolic flights, and by experiencing myself this unique experience of weightlessness.

Briefly, a parabolic flight on board a specially chartered Airbus is a flight composed of a succession of 31 parabolas made up of 30 seconds of 2G, then 22 seconds of 0G, then 30 seconds again of 2G, before returning to a steady flight in 1G, all of which lasts for about three hours (with take-off, flight over the area, return and landing).

A first “on the spot” report is planned to appear on the blog of the Space Observatory, before an analysis of the data and their publication.

Upside down, experience of weightlessness on board of Novespace’s Airbus Zero-G, on March 9, 2022, over the North Atlantic. by Vincent Battesti