Volunteer from third dry immersion study

One of ten male volunteers tucked in a waterbed for ten days as part of a dry immersion study to recreate some of the effects of spaceflight on the body. The third campaign of the Vivaldi studies kicked off in February with at the Medes space clinic in Toulouse, France.

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.