NASA will pay $15,000 to anyone who is willing to sit in bed for 87 days
Do you spend a lot of your time playing computer games? Do you get withdrawal symptoms if you haven’t checked your social networking account of choice for a few hours? Or do you have a spread sheet so that you can document which episode you are up to in your favourite series because you watch so many you will lose track otherwise? Well then maybe NASA’s stay in bed study will be perfect for you!
Would you be willing to lie in bed for a total of 87 days?
NASA is holding the study to monitor the effects of microgravity on the human body. They simulate the subjects being in space by having them lie in a tilted bed where their feet are higher than their heads. Subjects will take part in the study at The Johnson Space Centre where they will live normally for the first 15 days to enable the people at NASA to monitor their bodies under normal living circumstances. They will then spend 60 days in bed where they will have light for 16 hours per day and darkness for 8 hours per day to simulate sleeping and waking hours. The only time they will move from the bed in these 60 days will be at times when the NASA employees will need to carry out some specific tests. After the 60 days are up there will be a 14 day rehabilitation period where they will ensure that the subject’s bodies are as they were when they arrived.
The tests that will be carried out will include monitoring changes in the bone, muscle, heart and circulatory system and also nutritional condition and immune system.
If you weren’t already interested in the 15.000 dollars NASA are offering maybe this will persuade you; in the ‘waking hours’ you will have access to TV, computer games, internet, books and can spend time with visitors. Plus you won’t have to cook for 87 glorious days but will be provided with a special diet designed to keep you at the weight you were when you entered the study. If you were worried about personal hygiene they even shower you in bed!
NASA is looking for people in the Tri State area who are in good mental and physical health. They must be aged 24-55 and be a non-smoker.
Heather Archuletta who has already taken part in the program said “I liked it so much the first time and I found it so exciting and such a great learning experience and I felt like I was contributing to science and the Mars program that I actually did two more.”
So, are you convinced? At the time of writing, you can still apply online here:
By Kaela Cristina Ripley
