Are you a healthy American citizen? If so, NASA wants to pay you $18,000 to stay in bed as their human guinea pig.
Scientists are researching how effective exercise is on astronauts, who lose cardiovascular, bone and muscle function as a result of living in zero gravity conditions, according to RT.com. Those who are selected will be examined for 70 days and go through a variety of tests.
Volunteers will be split into two groups: those who exercise and those who don't. During stage one, they will spend up to three weeks in a 'bed rest facility' where they can get up and move around, performing every day tasks. For the second step, the volunteers will be sent to NASA's Flight Analog Research Unit in Houston, Texas. That's where they'll lay in bed for 10 weeks with their bodies tilted slightly backwards, their heads down and their feet up.
Very little movement will be allowed and the volunteers will only be able to use a plastic bed pan to go to the bathroom in. They can only clean themselves lying down with a handheld shower head. The experiment is to get a sense of what an astronaut goes through in the weightless environment in space.
The third stage puts the volunteers through 14 days of 'reconditioning activities' that include regular excercise to see how well their body bounces back from lying almost completely motionless.
About the Author
