For the first time, a crew consisting solely of persons with disabilities took flight and found themselves in zero gravity thanks to space company Mission AstroAccess recently.
The flight was in a Boeing 727 and the zero-gravity lasted for 20 seconds with the crew of 12.
The mission entailed using sound and vibrations for members of the crew that were blind, and specially-designed facilities for those who were immobile.
Picture: Eric Ingram
‘We combined the textures for the blind or low vision group with the handholds of the mobility impairment group. So, if you’ve got handholds down the wall, and each of them is textured differently, that provides a different amount of information,’ said Eric Ingram, CEO of Mission AstroAccess according to Wion.
Ingram was born with arthrogryposis, a condition affecting the joints that impairs movement. His lifelong dream was to become an astronaut.
The mission of the flight was to conduct research into the practicalities of space travel for persons with disabilities. ‘Nasa, and from a government standpoint, have never picked anyone with a disability. They always have had these very strict standards,’ said Mary Cooper aerospace engineering and computer science student with a prosthetic leg, according to BBC. Her favourite part of the experience was doing cartwheels in zero gravity.
‘Nasa is doing a disservice to humanity and also to astronauts themselves by not considering inclusion upfront. When you get a group of people with diverse abilities together the sum is greater than the parts,’ said Sina Bahram, blind computer scientist.
Bahram described the experience: ‘It’s not that you’re floating up, it’s that you’re no longer getting pulled down. You’re sitting on the ground, you push off so much as with one finger and you’re floating.’
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