The European Space Agency has opened research for 20 volunteers between 20 and 40 years old who will have the opportunity to participate in a new study, called “Vivaldi III” which will simulate living conditions in space, in the absence of gravity. The simulation will be held at the Space Clinic itself in Toulouse, France, and provides for a remuneration of 5 thousand euros for the volunteers who will take part.
How the experiment works
The selected will be divided into two groups of 10: the first must remain lying on an inclined bed of 6 degrees, the other 10 will be immersed in the water, with only the head and arms out, protected by a waterproof sheet. All participants will have to observe a period of inactivity: it will be allowed to carry out remote activities on computer devices – so go -ahead for video calls, video games, smartworking – but they will not be able to leave the positions imposed, if not for short moments to go to the bathroom, where they will be transported with a trolley. Even during the journey, participants will have to maintain a relaxed condition. For those who exactly review your dream work, you can send your candidacy on the European Space Agency (ESA) website,
These conditions aim to replicate what astronauts face during space missions. During the experiment, the participants will be subjected to medical assessments that aim to monitor the changes of this “forced rest” on the human body.
In the two previous editions of “Vivaldi”, women and men have been tested in the immersion for 5 days, while the latter project will see a longer duration of the test: “Extending the duration of the dry dive and comparing it with bed rest, we are perfecting our understanding of how these methods simulate life in space, the different physiological effects and the way they complete each other”, explains Ann-Kathrin Vlacil, team ESA leader.
Under analysis the physiological changes of the human body
“The dry dive takes weight from the body, creating conditions similar to the absence of weight, while the rest resting bed imitates the changes of the fluid and the inactivity experienced in space due to microgravity,” they explain by the agency. In fact, both methods induce physiological effects that influence neurological, cardiovascular and metabolic systems of the human body.
All these modifications, as well as hormonal changes, immune responses and connections between the nervous system and that of vision, are currently being studied by researchers in order to “mitigate the health risks in astronauts and to design better countermeasures for human exploration beyond the earth”. However, “our results have significant implications also for earth -based medicine, in particular in conditions related to aging”.