NASA is currently looking for volunteers to stay in bed for 70 days. That's right, volunteers will receive a total of $18,000. The requirement is that they stay in bed, playing games on their phones, reading books, skyping with friends, or even continuing to work on their own projects as long as they do it in bed.
Why all this?
The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of microgravity on the human body. The study naturally simulates the effects of long-duration space flights where astronauts remain in beds for around 70 days. In bed the head is tilted downwards and according to Dr Cromwell, this tilt causes body fluids to shift towards the upper body, triggering cardiovascular problems that are similar to those seen in spaceflight.
"By putting someone in bed for a long period of time, there is also muscle atrophy, as well as atrophy of bone density," says Dr Cromwell.
When astronauts spend weeks essentially floating in space – they don't have to use more than one finger to push themselves out of a room – their muscles atrophy.
