Weightless Lab

The ZERO-G Corporation, a subsidiary of Space Adventures, is announcing a new program. The Weightless Lab program will offer commercial and academic researchers access to various gravitational regimes-- Martian, Lunar, microgravity, and even hypergravity-- in two-day programs in July and September.

No, the company hasn't come up with a neat new mode of interplanetary travel. Instead, ZERO-G flies jets in parabolic arcs, which produce simulated gravitational environments; different parabolas produce different gravity states. Such flights, called "vomit comets" by some who don't take well to roller coasters, are best known for their roles in astronaut training and movies, but they also offer valuable research opportunities across a range of fields, from biology and pharmaceuticals to fluid and fundamental physics and materials science to space hardware.

The company is marketing the program as a less costly, more reliable way to get needed data than waiting for opportunities for flying experiments in space.