Parabolic flight enables new coronavirus experiment

Researchers are starting regular parabolic flights from Dübendorf airport. During a parabolic maneuver, an aircraft is put into a free fall within the gravitational field, which leads to true physical weightlessness for a short time on board. At this time, researchers can conduct experiments under similar conditions to those on the international space station (ISS).

According to a press release, a parabolic flight is now starting again from Dübendorf on Thursday. This time, eight experiments from the areas of medicine, astrophysics, and geology will be conducted on board. An experiment from the University of Zurich is focusing on Covid-19.

Research group leader Cora Thiel explains: “In severe and sometimes fatal cases of Covid-19, it seems that the immune system has induced a massive and dangerous inflammatory reaction, which does not occur in mild cases.” Researchers already know from space medicine that overactivation of the immune system is muted in zero gravity. Now they hope to induce this immune status known from zero gravity in human cell cultures using drugs that have already received approval.

If the experiment produces positive results, a clinical test series will follow. The researchers hope that the method can decrease fatal outcomes of Covid-19. Oliver Ullrich, Professor of Anatomy at UZH and Director of the UZH Space Hub explains: “That would enable ‘herd immunity’ to be reached with fewer risks.”

The UZH Space Hub is the University of Zurich’s innovation cluster for aerospace. It links internationally connected research in aerospace at the UZH with new partnerships from science and industry, bringing it to the Innovation Park Zurich at Dübendorf.

Michael Schaepman, Vice President Research at UZH, says: “With an airfield on our doorstep we have a unique situation within Europe, and as today’s parabolic flight shows, UZH and the Space Hub are reliable partners in aerospace research and development even in challenging times.”