Get paid to get laid… 60 days. On September 7, the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology (Medes) of Toulouse launched a call for applications for the second phase of its “study on bed rest.” The first phase took place in spring and had 12 participants.
The project should allow for a better understanding of “the effects of microgravity on the human body” to prepare for “future long-duration space flights,” Medes says on his website.
Medes is again looking for 12 volunteers, who will be paid 18,000 euros (spread over four years) for their participation in the study from the beginning of February to the beginning of May 2024. Lasting 88 days in total, it contains 60 days during which the volunteers are lying at -6°, with their head lower than their feet. The idea is to reproduce the changes that the human body undergoes in space.
Busy days
Participants do not get bored because they are bedridden. Eight of the 12 volunteers must perform exercises to test them as a “prevention method” against the effects of microgravity on the body (loss of muscle mass, dehydration, vision problems, etc.)
“The days are relatively busy, between the four meals a day, plus the physiotherapy session, plus the vitals in the morning and then all the exams we do during the day,” Matthieu, one of the first participants, testified with BFMTV in May.
“In the end, the days go by relatively quickly,” he said.
In the Toulouse study, the exercise consists of riding a bicycle (still lying down), to see if this activity can help counteract certain effects of life in space.
How is the selection made?
To apply, volunteers must meet the following criteria:
- Man from 20 to 45 years old
- In perfect health, without medical treatment.
- Non smoker
- Body mass index between 20 and 27 kg/m²
- Measures between 1m58 and 1m90
- Be in excellent physical shape and practice sports activity regularly (criterion verified by stress test)
- No allergies or dietary restrictions.
Selection is carried out through two telephone interviews, a medical examination, a psychological selection visit and a centrifuge test.
Source: BFM TV
