Vladyslav Atavin is back! Last year, in his blog, Astronaut of the Pillow, Vlad was kind enough to share his experiences while participating in the European Space Agency Flight Simulations. Their French, Irish, Austrian, German, and Italian scientists came together to conduct tests similar to those I underwent at NASA.
Oh, the things we do for science!
Last December, Vlad wrote about the first phase of their experiments in French. In April, he completed phase two, and wrote about his medical tests in English. The third phase, set for autumn of 2013, will be recorded in Russian. FlightSim sure is turning into an international endeavour!
There are twelve individuals in their ongoing study: 10 Frenchmen, 1 Spaniard, and 1 Russian.
The entire program is ambitious in size and scope:
Four pillownauts will spend 21 days at a head-down tilt while engaging in recumbent weight-training and a vibrating exercise contraption. Another foursome will engage in the same, but add whey protein to their diets to see if there is any difference in muscle building. A final four will spend the same amount of time in bed, but lacking any of these attempts at "countermeasures." Throughout the program, they will undergo various tests and experiments.
2011: the year the term PILLOWNAUT crossed the pond
These studies, with Mars in mind as a destination, are designed to find countermeasures to keep astronauts and cosmonauts healthier on long-duration missions. Vlad's detailed journal includes descriptions of program phases, photographs of the study facility, lists of his requirements and protocols, medical tests, and how the subjects spend their leisure time.
Many protocols are identical to those used at NASA: -6 degree tilt, food regimen, calculated fluid intake, blood tests and urinalysis, plasma volume measurements, DEXA bone scans, and neurological balance tests; and also minor details, such as having to shave certain body areas to accommodate electrodes, and having massages to prevent thrombosis.
Poor Vlad had to shave his hand, wrist, and leg for various tests, including multiple biopsies. So dedicated! He still looks great, in spite of it all! Rehab and exercise after FlightSim is no easy matter, but he met all the challenges...
Reading his daily updates brought back so many memories of my own experiences with the many tests: Posturography, Isometric muscle activities and of course, the dreaded Tilt Tests. We did so many of the same things! (With slight differences in style and equipment.) It's been fun to compare my logs to his in terms of his work in Toulouse, France -- and my work in Galveston, Texas.
Honestly though, he does something a LOT that I never did in any of my Flight Simulation programs: he constantly gets folks to photograph him shirtless. Ladies, enjoy!
If you think you might be interested in participating in such paid studies, they tend to be very lucrative for healthy volunteers -- and now they are going on across three continents! I used to get many international questions, and always had to break it to people that NASA only takes US citizens. But the Russian and European space agencies will now be conducting analog FlightSims, too.
Keep your eyes peeled for application promotions -- and of course, whenever I hear of a new study that is recruiting, you will see it here on my blog!
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