For two months, 12 people from France will be put into a “compulsory reclined lifestyle” to study the impacts that microgravity has on astronauts and whether cycling in artificial gravity could combat the negative effects human spaceflight has on the body. The Bedrest with Artificial Gravity and Cycling Exercise (BRACE) is led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French Space Agency (CNES) and will mark the first bedrest study involving cycling in Europe.
The project racked up 3,000 expressions of interest from volunteers in France, but after an extensive selection process, 12 people were selected and are currently gearing up for 60 days in bed, with one shoulder always touching the mattress, tilted six degrees below the horizontal line with their feet up, in the name of science.
NSF sat down with Dr. Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA’s lead for life sciences at human and robotic exploration, to discuss what BRACE is and how it could benefit human spaceflight.