NASA Wants Tri-Staters To Stay In Bed For A Month
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Ever feel like you don't want to get out of bed, for a month? Well, now you can, and NASA will even pay you for it!
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is looking for test subjects to to help figure out what a zero gravity environment does to the human body, and they want people from the Tri-State Area.
WCBS 880's Alex Silverman spoke with Heather Archuletta, who has actually participated in the Space Flight Simulation Study.
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"Please tell us why," said Silverman.
"Well, actually, I had just left a job and I remarked to a friend of mine 'God, I wish I could just sleep for a month.' He had seen something about the NASA studies on wired.com and so he sent that to me as a joke, but then I followed the trail back to NASA's website, where they basically said 'Come to bed rest, tilted head down which simulates microgravity' and that they would, in fact, pay for it," she told Silverman. "So, I though 'Well, I'm not doing anything right now. It doesn't hurt me to apply' and I didn't think I'd hear anything, but two weeks later, I got a phone call and they said 'You're exactly the physical type and health that we're looking for. So, why don't you come to Houston and screen.'"
"This can't be fun. What's it like just lying there for all that time?" asked Silverman.
"Well, because so many body changes take place in bedrest, they really test every system. As soon as you're head down, your feet get a little tender 'cause you're not using them. A little blood rushes to your head, which is exactly what happens in space. So, you get a little puffy," she said. "Little body aches here and there, but what's amazing is that you adapt. The human body will adapt to just about anything that you throw at it."
"Well, thank goodness for that. I guess the silver lining is that you are a big part of how our space program is going to progress into the future," Silverman said.
"Oh my gosh. Well, my personal interest was the Mars program. I really wanted to see us get to Mars in my lifetime. I hope that happens and these microgravity simulations are one of the things that help scientists keep astronauts more healthy in microgravity. We have to figure out a way to do that because it can take six to nine months to get to Mars with current propulsion technology," she said.
"So, someone out there is hearing this, saying, 'You know, I really don't have anything better to do for a month. Might as well take $10 an hour to just lie there.' What's your pitch to that person?" asked Silverman.
"My pitch would be 'Don't believe everything you read on the internet about this,'" she said. 'Oh it drives me crazy. Sometimes, I'll go to websites where people talk about it and they'll say 'Oh no, you know you'll be crippled for life and NASA will do this and that and the other.' It's nonsense. Find someone who's done the programs. I liked it so much the first time and I found it so exciting and such a great learning experience and I felt like I was contributing to science and the Mars program that I actually did two more."
If you'd like to apply for the study, click here.
You must be 24 - 55 years of age, in good general health, and a non-tobacco user.
