When Tereza Bednářová first learned about the Zero-G project, she had only a few weeks left before her nineteenth birthday. “I thought to myself: you’re still eligible, so give it a try,” recalls the mechatronics student from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology. A few months later, she was among 26 Czech students selected through a demanding six-round process to experience weightlessness aboard a specially modified Airbus A310 during a parabolic flight.

The Czech Journey to Space programme and its student Zero-G mission gave selected young people the opportunity to experience conditions normally encountered by astronauts in orbit. The flight took place on 30 March 2025 in cooperation with the French company Novespace, which also conducts similar missions for astronaut training and scientific experiments.

“Weightlessness is great for relieving pressure on your spine or taking a short break. But the moment you actually want to do something, you quickly realize how dependent we are on gravity and how difficult it is to move around without it. The ISS is full of handrails, and there are plenty of videos on YouTube showing astronauts getting stuck in the middle of a module and struggling to get anywhere,” Bednářová says with a smile, reflecting on the unique experience.

What Is Zero-G? A parabolic flight, often referred to as Zero-G, is a method of simulating weightlessness without leaving Earth’s atmosphere. During the flight, a specially modified aircraft performs a series of parabolic manoeuvres that create brief periods of microgravity, similar to the conditions aboard the International Space Station. Such flights are used both for astronaut training and for scientific experiments that require a weightless environment.

The principle is essentially free fall. During each manoeuvre, the aircraft follows a carefully controlled trajectory that allows passengers to experience near-weightlessness for several tens of seconds. For most participants, it is the closest experience they will ever have to being in space.

Six Rounds, Stress and Psychological Testing

Being selected as a cadet required successfully navigating a demanding recruitment process. Applicants underwent psychological assessments, language and cognitive tests, physical evaluations, and personal interviews.

“The hardest part was that we never really knew what was coming next. We would just receive an email saying we had advanced to another round and a rough indication of what would be tested,” says Bednářová, who found the personal interview the most challenging part of the process. “They really grilled me,” she laughs.

At the same time, she understands that the pressure served a purpose. “From the beginning, the plan was for us to become ambassadors of the Czech Journey to Space programme. That meant being able to communicate effectively and handle pressure or negative reactions. The experience taught me to trust myself more and to know that when things get tough, I can perform at my best,” she says. Those skills now prove useful during lectures for young audiences and presentations at festivals, where she promotes space exploration.

“I enjoy sharing enthusiasm for space and showing people that it’s no longer an unattainable dream,” she explains. “I once read a quote that said: I was born too late to explore the oceans and too early to explore space. But I don’t think that’s true anymore. Today, we have a much better chance of reaching space than ever before.” She hopes that one day she herself will experience true weightlessness in orbit.

That ambition is one of the reasons she chose an engineering career. At the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, she studies mechatronics and is particularly interested in developing space technologies, especially telescopes and satellite systems. “After grammar school, I wanted to do something more practical—something where I could build things and work with my hands,” she explains.

The programme also reunited her with her friend Ondra Wojtovič, whom she met during astronaut training. What fascinates her most are deployable structures used in space missions. “What I love about satellites and telescopes is the origami aspect. You launch a small package into space, and then it unfolds into a huge structure. I find that absolutely amazing.”

She sees mechatronics as a field that could open doors to the European space industry and is already looking into workshops and internships offered by the European Space Agency (ESA). Yet judging her solely by her space ambitions would be misleading. She enjoys crocheting, growing houseplants, and upcycling clothes. In her view, having a broad range of interests can actually be an advantage.

“An astronaut doesn’t necessarily have to be the smartest or the fastest person in the room. It’s more about being someone who can do a bit of everything and adapt to different situations.”

There Is No Planet B

Environmental issues are also close to her heart. In her view, space exploration should never become an excuse for neglecting problems on Earth. “As the saying goes: There is no Planet B. We’re far too slow as a species to simply escape. If we’re going to save ourselves, it has to happen here on Earth. I believe that not only space research, but technology in general, can help us do that,” says Bednářová.

She considers the perspective of Earth as a shared home to be one of the most powerful ideas in modern space exploration. “The astronauts of the Artemis II mission recently talked about this as well: when you see Earth from space, you don’t see national borders. You just see one planet that we all share. I think that perspective could help bring us closer together in the future,” she concludes.