A 24-hour-long ‘spa’: 20 women to immerse in waterbeds to understand effects of space on female body – India Today

A team of 20 women are part of a study to understand the effects of space travel on the female body, tucking themselves in a waterbed for five days as part of a dry immersion. The study will recreate some of the effects of spaceflight on the body.

Space travel will soon become much more commercial and long-lasting compared to what it is today. The boundary beyond the Earth will witness a new race as male and female astronauts jettison from the surface towards Moon and beyond with the Artemis missions planned in the coming years. While male astronauts have ventured to the Moon and returned, the first female astronaut to the Moon will launch with Artemis.

The study began on September 21 with two participants at the MEDES Space Clinic in Toulouse, France. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the study, called VIVALDI, to address the gender gap in science data. It is the second time a dry immersion study is being conducted with all-female participants, and it is a first for Europe.

A dry immersion study is conducted with volunteers lying down in containers similar to bathtubs covered with waterproof fabric to keep them dry and evenly suspended in water. "As a result, the body experiences supportlessness something close to what astronauts experience while floating on the International Space Station," the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology said in a statement.

This is the only the second time a dry immersion campaign takes place with all-female participants, and it is a first for Europe. (Photo: ESA)

There is almost no knowledge about the physiological and psychological effects on women in this research area. An all-female dry immersion study will add to previous male campaigns ran in Europe and Russia, said Angelique Van Ombergen, ESAs discipline lead for life sciences.

The dry immersion technique tries to replicate the effects of weightlessness that astronauts experience in space that causes them to lose muscle and bone density, experience visual deterioration. Previous studies have also shown that the absence of gravity leads to fluids shifting towards the brain that can lead to some hearing impairments.

Therefore it becomes crucial to prepare astronauts for such events in advance in order to stay healthy in orbit. "The results from this type of research do not only benefit astronauts but have implications for patients on Earth with similar disorders and elderly people," the institute said.

According to the Institute, the immersion begins when water covers the subject above the thorax, immobilised with legs and trunk covered with a cotton sheet. Only the arms and head remain free outside the tarp.

Graphic: ESA

As part of the study, participants spend 24 hours in the immersion tank, limiting their movements as much as possible. "Each day starts at 7 am with urine and blood samples, and it is filled with scientific protocols and measurements to study how the body adapts," the institute said.

The doctors maintain that all the day-to-day activities are conducted while being immersed and only a small pillow is allowed during meals to ease eating. " Showering and transfer to other experiments are done outside of the tank while lying on their backs and with their head tilted 6 degrees down to minimise fluid shifts," it added.

The study is being hailed as an important event ahead of the larger participation of women in spaceflight operations. It could fill the gaps in data that would help in designing better health and medical strategies for women astronauts going forward.

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A 24-hour-long 'spa': 20 women to immerse in waterbeds to understand effects of space on female body - India Today