Dream job? European Space Agency is paying 12 volunteers £15,600 to spend two months lying in BED

By William On May 23, 2023

The idea of getting paid to stay in bed for two months may sound too good to be true.

But it’s exactly what the European Space Agency (ESA) is offering 12 volunteers as part of a new study.

While lying in bed may sound relaxing, during the study the volunteers will also be confronted with cycling, spinning and medical tests – all while keeping one shoulder touching the mattress.

Fortunately, the volunteers receive an impressive reward for their services, with €18,000 (£15,600) each.

ESA hopes the findings will help explore possible measures to counteract the changes the human body is going through in space.

The idea of getting paid to stay in bed for two months may sound too good to be true. But it’s exactly what the European Space Agency (ESA) is offering 12 volunteers as part of a new study

While lying in bed may sound relaxing, the study will also include cycling, spinning, and medical tests — all while one shoulder continues to touch the mattress

The 88-day study is now underway and includes 12 male volunteers aged 20-45.

For 60 days of the study, participants will be kept in tilted beds 6° below horizontal with feet up.

Meals, showers, and even toilet breaks should be held from this position, with one shoulder resting on the mattress at all times.

As blood rushes to the head and muscles are lost through underexertion, the researchers monitor how the participants’ bodies respond.

‘Bed support studies provide a way to test measures to counteract some of the negative aspects of living in space,’ explains ESA.

“On space missions, astronauts’ bodies undergo a wide variety of changes due to a lack of gravity – everything from their eyes to their hearts is affected and muscles and bones begin to atrophy.”

While previous studies have looked at the effects of being horizontal for long periods of time, this study, called BRACE (Bed Rest with Artificial gravity and Cycling Exercise), is the first to examine how cycling can counteract the changes the human body experiences in space.

The volunteers’ beds have special bicycles at the foot end, which can be cycled horizontally

These can also be placed in a centrifuge, where the voluteers are spun to drive the blood to their feet, doubling the force of gravity

The volunteers’ beds have special bicycles at the foot end, which can be cycled horizontally.

These can also be placed in a centrifuge, where the voluteers are spun to drive the blood to their feet, doubling the force of gravity.

“We encourage volunteers to put in their maximum effort on the bike and then compare the impact with those who don’t cycle at all,” said Rebecca Billette, head of clinical research at MEDES, the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France.

Cycling was chosen because it is already an important part of the daily fitness routine of astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

This study will run from April to July 2023, while a follow-up study will run from January to April 2024

“We hope to understand the added value of artificial gravity for the fitness routine that astronauts follow on the International Space Station,” said Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA Life Sciences Leader at Human and Robotic Exploration.

“The crew practices two hours a day in orbit.”

And not only astronauts could benefit from the findings of the study, says Ms Van Ombergen.

“Results from space analogs could be useful to design better treatments for the elderly and for patients with musculoskeletal disorders and osteoporosis on Earth,” she explained.

This study will run from April to July 2023, while a follow-up study will run from January to April 2024.

ARE PEOPLE BORN ON THE MOON ‘IN A COUPLE DECADES’?

Children will be born on the moon ‘in a few decades’ and whole families will join the European moon colony by 2050, claims a leading space scientist.

Professor Bernard Foing, ambassador of the European Space Agency-driven ‘Moon Village’ scheme, made the remarks.

He said there could be an initial settlement on the moon by 2030 of six to 10 pioneers — scientists, technicians and engineers — which could grow to 100 by 2040.

“In 2050 you could have a thousand and then… of course you could envision family coming over there to join the crew,” he told AFP.

Speaking at this year’s European Planetary Science Congress in Riga, Latvia, Professor Foing explained how humanity’s lunar colonies could expand rapidly.

He compared human expansion on the moon to the growth of railroads, as villages grew around train stations, followed by businesses.

Potential lunar resources include basalt, a volcanic rock that can be used as a raw material for 3D printing satellites.

These could be deployed from the moon at a fraction of the cost of a high gravity launch from Earth.

The moon also hosts helium-3, a rare isotope on our planet, which could theoretically be used to generate cleaner, safer nuclear power for Earth.

One of the main targets for lunar colonies is water, trapped in ice at the poles of the moon.

Water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen, two gases that explode when mixed to produce rocket fuel.