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iversity in STE A M www.diversityinsteam.com
WHAT'S TRENDING
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ecoming an astronaut has never been an easy task, often requiring individuals to have certain amounts of strength and stamina to safely go to the stars. This has often leftindividuals with disabilities out of the narrative due to health and safety concerns. But what if, with a few accessible modifications, individuals with disabilities could be included in a journey to space? That is ex- actly was AstroAccess is striving for and succeeding in showing the world. In 2021, AstroAccess, an orga- nization dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in space exploration, launched their space craft, a parabolic flight with zero gravity, with a group of 12 ambassadors with disabil- ities from professions and with experience in the sciences, the military, engineering and art- istry. The flight reached about 32,000 feet in altitude, and the ambassadors were tasked to work on mock experimentation and demonstrations that would be performed on a real space mission. This inaugural flight, re- ferred to as Flight 1, focused on operational tasks that will demonstrate the abilities of disabled crew members to work effectively in a microgravity environment through these mock demonstration tasks and experiments. The investigative team will then examine what minor changes would need to be made to space vessels to create a more accessible envi- ronment for every ability. The examinations of the experiment included physical environment accessibility, multi-sensory communication for safety procedures and data collection
Making Space Exploration Accessible for All
By Natalie Rodgers and AstroAccess
AstroAccess Flight 1 Ambassador, Apurva Varia, floating during a weightless parabola onboard Sunday's flight.
AL POWERS FOR ZERO GRAVITY CORPORATION
of microgravity demonstrations. AstroAccess intends to contin- ue iterating design solutions through all of their future mis- sions, supporting researchers of all kinds of disabilities aboard parabolic flights such as Flight 1 and the eventual launch of suborbital missions and orbital spaceflight. The experiment proved to be a roaring success and a huge milestone to foster- ing disability representation in space exploration. Yesterday's successful flight was an important milestone in our mission to open space for all, co-project lead, George Whitesides, told SPACEREF , The tasks and demonstrations carried out by our ambassadors will have a profound effect on the space industry at large, inform the design of future space vehicles, and pave the way for future astronauts with disabilities. Along with the 12 individuals of Flight 1, the project has been greatly supported by major organizations and corporations such as DAV (Disabled American Veterans), the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Aspen Science Center, the Jean Maggi Foundation and from sev- eral universities and academies from around the globe. Several American companies, along with the 12 ambassadors, also sent representatives in crewed space- light vehicles to observe the AstroAccess experiment to gain a better understanding of how to best incorporate methods of accessibility in the STEM field. We are only at the beginning of this journey, Sina Bahram, one of Flight 1's participants, said in a press release, But I am already excited to see what can be achieved by removing barriers to space, inspiring the future generations to pursue careers in aerospace and other STEM industries, and the benefit this will have on humankind. The 12 members of Flight 1 included: Sina Bahram : An accessibility consultant, computer scientist, researcher, public speaker, entrepreneur and founder of Prime Access Consulting. He was recognized in 2012 as a White House Champion of Change for his doctoral research work enabling users with disabilities to succeed in STEM ields.
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