These women will be staying in bed for a whole week in the name of science. A group of 20 female volunteers will be spending five days in bed to study the effects of spaceflights at the Medes space clinic in Toulouse, France. This will allow researchers to understand the effects of microgravity on the body using a method called dry immersion.
One of the best ways to simulate the weightlessness of space on Earth is to use water. That’s the reason astronauts train underwater for spacewalks. However, volunteers can’t stay in water long-term to see the effects on their bodies over a span of a few days.
Studying effects of microgravity on the body
So a dry immersion study works by using a water bed. The volunteers are asked to lie in big bathtubs, but with the water covered using waterproof fabric. This makes sure that they aren’t in contact with the water but it still supports their bodies in a way that is similar to what astronauts experience when they are in space. They will spend almost 24 hours a day in the water bed.
Microgravity is also known to have several effects on the body including muscle wasting to fluid redistribution. Besides, astronauts are also known to have psychological effects of limited motion in monotonous environments which are important to understand.
Need for specific research on women
However, most of the research in this area is done on men. With an increasing number of female astronauts, there’s a need to do more specific research on their experiences.
“There is almost no knowledge about the physiological and psychological effects on women in this research area. An all-female dry immersion study will add to previous male campaigns ran in Europe and Russia,” said Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA’s discipline lead for life sciences.
Apart from helping researchers to understand more about what the body goes through in microgravity, this research could help people on Earth as well. The findings of the research can come in handy for understanding the psychological and physical needs of patients with movement disorders.
