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I read the same article about Stephen Hawking's planned flight experience. What's interesting to me, is the fact that spacesickness can be experienced in a place where there is no visual input. I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that the vomit comet was a plane completely lined with padding on the inside. With that in mind, there should be no windows or any way for the passengers to see outside. So how does the motion sickness occur? In space sickness, isn't the nausea caused by a discrepancy between the inner ear and the visual input? If there is no visual input, there can be no discrepancy with the inner ear. Does motion sickness actually have nothing to do with your visuals, and more to do with the lack of gravity on your inner ear? To me, there should be no sensory-motor conflict if you are unable to see what's going on. Someone mentioned in class that if you have poor vision, your chances of getting motion sick were slimmer. What if you are blind, can you never get motion sick? If so, this should be the same as the window-less cabin...

That brings me to a few other questions: If your inner ear is damaged, can you a) experience motion sickness? b) function at all?