This course is an introduction to the environment of microgravity.? An object in freefall experiences the sensation of weightlessness such as in parabolic flights or in spacecraft. Experiments performed in this environment yield different results from those performed in Earth-based laboratories.? This course will introduce the various microgravity platforms available for scientific experiments such as drop towers, parabolic flights, sounding rockets and space stations. The course includes a grounding in multiple scientific phenomena such as thermodynamics, solid state physics, materials science and electromagnetism and how all these phenomena occur differently in space. For example; a flame on Earth is yellow and forms a tear-drop shape; a flame in microgravity is blue, forms a sphere shape and burns at a much higher temperature. In this course you will learn how and why this happens, explaining the differences in phenomena using physics concepts and equations.

An extensive practical activity running over the entire course will allow students to work in teams to design, construct and test a scientific payload for experimentation in a microgravity environment. Part of the assessment of the practical laboratories will include preparing space industry design documents and presenting your payload development status to industry experts. You will gain experience using simulation tools such as COMSOL, ANSYS and MATLAB; you will use CAD tools such as Solidworks to design the experiment infrastructure and there will also be the opportunity to design and solder your own electronic circuitry.

Some teams will work alongside the RMIT student rocket team, 'HIVE' or the RMIT student rover team.