Suspended lunch

Volunteer of the Vivaldi III dry immersion campaign during a meal break.

For 10 days, volunteers remain in this position inside containers filled with water. Participants take part in a wide range of medical experiments and scientific studies to help researchers understand how space affects the human body.

During meals, they use a floating board and a neck pillow. For bathroom breaks, participants are temporarily transferred onto a trolley, maintaining their laid-back position at all times.

Dry-immersion baths are used to recreate aspects of living in weightlessness on Earth. Volunteers lay down in containers similar to bathtubs covered with a waterproof fabric to keep them dry and evenly suspended in water. The studies benefit from placing less pressure on the body as volunteers are supported and suspended evenly in the tub, a condition that mimics the floating astronauts experience on the International Space Station.

The results from this type of research does not only benefit astronauts but has implications for people on Earth who are bedridden for long periods of time.