Overview

This unit aims to provide an introduction and overview of the underlying principles and concepts in a variety of space science microgravity research topics as they relate to human space travel and space exploration research.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
02-March-2026
31-May-2026
Last self-enrolment date
15-March-2026
Census date
31-March-2026
Last withdraw without fail date
21-April-2026
Results released date
07-July-2026

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  1. Discuss the basic principles involved in microgravity environments
  2. Use appropriate terminology for practical applications of the concepts in microgravity environments
  3. Describe important considerations related to research and/or operations in microgravity
  4. Recognise and describe the differences in experimental outcomes between experiments conducted in space and experiments on Earth
  5. Apply concepts to real-world applications and predict the behaviour of space research conducted in microgravity

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Class		 2.00  12 weeks  24
Online
Learning activities		 4.00  12 weeks  48
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning		 5.50  12 weeks  78
TOTAL     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Online Discussion Individual  20 - 40%  1,2,3,4,5 
Online Quiz Individual  30 - 50%  1,2,3,4,5 
Report Individual  20 - 40%  1,2,3,4,5 

Content

This unit provides an introduction to Microgravity research theories and methods. 

Topics include:

  • introduction to microgravity research
  • human performance in space
  • space medicine
  • space biotechnology.

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.