Do you like resting in bed? Then German space scientists have a job for you testing microgravity's effects on the human body.
Image: Imago Images/K. W. Schmidt
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German space scientists are offering volunteers €16,500 ($18,500) to lie in bed for 60 days to test the negative effects of weightlessness on the human body.
The long-term bed-rest study, aimed at understanding the impact of microgravity on astronauts during extended space travel to the moon and Mars, involves 12 men and 12 women remaining in bed for two months at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne.
"Crewed spaceflight will continue to be important in the future in order to carry out experiments in microgravity, but we must make it as safe as possible for the astronauts," said Hansjörg Dittus, DLR Executive Board Member for Space Research and Technology.
Prolonged periods of time in a weightless environment causes bone and muscle atrophy, reduced cardiovascular function and forces bodily fluids to move to the upper part of the body. It can also lead to weakness, dizziness, stuffy heads, puffy faces, motion sickness, inner ear disturbances, compromised immune systems and back pain.
As part of the simulated study, participants will be confined to bed for all experiments, meals and leisure — even to shower or go to the bathroom.
The beds are also angled downwards towards the head end by six degrees to simulate the displacement of bodily fluids experienced by astronauts in microgravity.
In a first of its kind experiment, two-thirds of volunteers will be placed daily into a "short-arm human centrifuge" that creates artificial gravity.
The centrifuge aims to tests whether artificial gravity can prevent or counteract the physiological changes experienced in space.
The short-arm human centrifuge tests the effects of artificial gravity on the body Image: Imago Images/K. W. Schmidt
The study, which is funded by NASA and the European Space Agency, will be conducted in two rounds. The first 12 volunteers arrived on March 25 and the second batch is expected to start the study in September.
Scientists are still seeking volunteers, especially women, for the second phase. Good German language skills are required to participate.
In addition to the monetary compensation, the German Aerospace Agency said among the benefits of participating in the study are using the time for learning, watching TV, avoiding daily chores and "gaining a clear idea about the goals you want to reach in the future."
First women in space
The US wants to put the first woman on the Moon by 2024. Whoever that is will be standing on the shoulders of giants. DW looks at some of the women who have made their mark in space exploration.
Image: picture-alliance/Itar-Tass/S. Baranov
'They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments'
On June 16 1963, skilled Russian parachutist Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, finishing 48 orbits of the earth in her space capsule Vostok 6. It would be almost 20 years until another woman left Earth's atmosphere — Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982 on the Soyuz T-7 mission. A crater on the Moon is named after Tereshkova who now sits as a member of Russia's parliament, the Duma.
Image: picture-alliance/Itar-Tass/S. Baranov
NASA's first females not allowed in space
NASA selected Shannon Lucid, Margaret Seddon, Kathryn Sullivan, Judith Resnik, Anna Fisher, and Sally Ride as their first female astronaut candidates in January 1978. A number of American women passed the astronaut selection process in the early 1960s but were not eligible to go into space because they had not completed military jet test pilot training — a career that was unavailable to women.
Image: picture-alliance/Cover Images/NASA
'Ask an 11-year-old to draw a scientist, she's likely to draw a geeky guy... That's just not an image an 11-year-old girl aspires to'
The first American woman in space was due to go on a third mission before the infamous Challenger disaster cut short her training in 1986. But Sally Ride made history by using robotic arms to retrieve satellites in her first two missions and later devoting her life to helping girls excel in math, science and engineering, according to President Barack Obama. She died from pancreatic cancer in 2012.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/NASA
'Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations...'
Inspired by Sally Ride, Mae Jemison — physician, teacher, Peace Corps volunteer and founder of two technology companies — became the first African-American woman in space when she embarked with the Endeavor in September 1992 to conduct bone cell experiments. As chief of the 100 Year Starship program she hopes to make human flight beyond the solar system possible this century.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/B. Zawrzel
Chiaki Mukai
Chiaki Mukai (center) trained as a doctor in Japan and went on to become the first Japanese woman to leave the earth, conducting multiple medical experiments in microgravity environments allowing for the study of aging in space. Her two voyages in 1994 and 1998 also allowed her to support the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/NASA
'When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system.'
Kalpana means "creativity" or "imagination" in Sanskrit. After becoming the first Indian-born woman to go to space, Kalpana Chawla's first mission was to deploy satellites to study the surface of the Sun in 1997. But after her second mission was delayed three years before taking off in 2003, Chawla's Columbia shuttle broke up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing the entire crew.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/NASA
'No signs of borders, no signs of troubles. Just pure beauty.'
Becoming a multi-millionaire entrepreneur by the age of 32 might be enough for most people, but in September 2006 Anousheh Ansari also became not only the first Iranian-born astronaut in space but also the first ever female private space explorer. After arriving at the International Space Station, she saw earth: "So peaceful, so full of life."
Image: picture-alliance/Everett Collection
Peggy Whitson
As the first female commander of the International Space Station, Peggy Whitson also holds another slightly daunting record — almost 666 days in space, the longest length for any woman. After numerous spacewalks, Whitson returned to Earth last in 2017 after 289 days on the multi-national mission, also making her the oldest woman to go to space.
