"A challenge"

Volunteers wanted: €18,000 for 2 months in bed

In preparation for a possible flight to the moon or Mars, researchers want to investigate more closely how the human body reacts to 60 days of strict bed rest. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is looking for volunteers to take part in the study in Cologne. Participants can win 18,000 euros.

As "terrestrial astronauts", the test subjects are to simulate the long journey in weightlessness to another celestial body by lying in a bed with the headboard lowered for 60 days. The researchers want to investigate which methods can be used to avoid the consequences of weightlessness feared by astronauts, such as dizziness and coordination disorders.

The pressure in the head increases, the physical inactivity causes muscles and bones to break down, the sense of balance is confused and the cardiovascular system changes.

Studienleiter Edwin Mulder

The beds of the study participants are inclined by six degrees, so that the head is lower than the feet. "With this inclination, the fluids in the body shift in almost the same way as in astronauts in space," said study leader Edwin Mulder on Wednesday. "The pressure in the head increases, the physical inactivity causes muscles and bones to break down, the sense of balance is confused and the cardiovascular system changes." The consequences of these physical changes are a major problem for astronauts after landing on the moon or Mars. "This can jeopardize a mission," emphasized the DLR.

NASA also involved
Together with the US space agency NASA, the researchers in Cologne therefore want to find out more about the effects of possible countermeasures. For example, the test subjects' feet are pressed against a board with straps to give the body the feeling that it is standing. Another group does additional strength and endurance training. In a third group, the muscles are stimulated with electrical impulses (EMS).

Bed rest studies have been common practice since the 1980s and have provided important findings for space travel, the DLR reported. Research is currently focusing on long-term missions to Mars, for example.

A lot of money for a "real challenge"
The participants in the current study, which is due to start in September, will receive an allowance of 18,000 euros for the 60 days in bed. This is not easy money, emphasized study director Mulder. Lying in bed for two months without interruption is a "real challenge". People between the ages of 24 and 55 who are between 1.53 and 1.90 meters tall and have a BMI of 18 to 30 can apply. They must be healthy, non-smokers and speak good German.