Erika Neuman holds a bottle of sour patch kids in zero gravity. Credit: Erika Neuman
Elementary Teacher in Space
ERIKA NEUMAN, AURELIA INSTITUTE
My goal for the Aurelia Horizons flight was to meet amazing, inspirational people, experience something unlike anything I ever have, and share the experience with my students and colleagues. Overall I would say it was a huge success! I loved learning about all of the different projects and research aboard the flight and the innovation of the people participating on this flight. My actual flight experience was unforgettable. I decided to bring a clear bottle and put 27 sour patch kids inside of it as a little zero-g demo with some special meaning. The sour patch kids were gifts from my students who know that they are my favorite gummy candy, and I put 27 in the bottle to represent my 27 students. My students got a kick out of my tribute to them and appreciated “being with me.” My main takeaway is to pace myself. I gave myself the first parabola to get my bearings then started doing somersaults by the third parabola. I learned that this is NOT a good plan—next time I will ease into each parabola.
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Erika Neuman stands in front of the ZeroG Corp’s G-Force One vessel. Credit: Erika Neuman