Work for NASA Doing Nothing... Absolutely Nothing
NASA wants to find some special people to pay to lie in a bed for 90 days straight. No moving about, no getting up, just lying there awake for 16 hours and sleeping for 8 hours a day. If you can handle it and this even sounds somehow appealing to you, NASA will pay you $17,000 for it. That's $1,000 a week since there are periods for tests and recovery.
The goal is to see what effect microgravity has on the human body. It also sounds like some new form of torture.
Don't have 17 weeks to spare? Then maybe the 41 day study is for you. Then again, that study requires you to be on a human centrifuge for an hour a day for 21 days. Yikes!
Bed Rest Study
Artificial Gravity Project
The goal is to see what effect microgravity has on the human body. It also sounds like some new form of torture.
Don't have 17 weeks to spare? Then maybe the 41 day study is for you. Then again, that study requires you to be on a human centrifuge for an hour a day for 21 days. Yikes!
Bed Rest Study
Artificial Gravity Project
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I have trouble staying awake sitting upright (at dept. meetings, at home watching tv, anytime I am not "working on something" I tend to doze) Although the centrifuge thing doesn't sound too bad, as long is it isn't going to go so fast as to separate the water out of my blood stream :-)
Well, a small one like Kiteman's, takes a gram of substance and spins it in a container so fast that several decades of G forces are created. In the bigger one that NASA uses, it takes a human and whirls them about a center like some amusement park rides, only a lot faster. The one at NASA, if I remember correctly, can create up to 20 g's in force (make you weigh 20 x's heavier).
It's also kind of like swinging water in a bucket. As you swing the bucket,(if you're swinging fast enough) the water stays in the bottom of the bucket, but the bucket continues to move. It's really cool!
Yes, up to a point. Once the g forces start to make you feel like your head is flattening out....well, it isn't so much fun anymore LOL
I tend to black out.....*sigh* something to do with my compromised blood flow or something :-)
Ever been to hershey park? There's a ride there that goes at 5g. Its REALY fun!
Ever been to Hershey Park?
Yeah, I remember when you could take food inside the park, and you had to buy tickets to the rides you went on. If you just wanted a nice spot to picnic and let the kids (me and my bother, way back then) on a few rides, it was a really cheap outing.
I haven't been there in years though, at least 5 or so. I do remember I rode with my little sister (she was in her 20's) on the Comet at the time, and I noticed that, now that I am older, the fear of death in such situations kind of comes out LOL
The "Looper" I don't mind so much, it is a smooth ride. But the Comet reminds me too much of the Jack Rabbit of Rocky Springs fame (just south of Lancaster, long gone now).
Which ride, at Hershey park, are you referring to exactly? The Roter spun fast enough to get up to that, but I don't think that is there anymore.
Yeah, I remember when you could take food inside the park, and you had to buy tickets to the rides you went on. If you just wanted a nice spot to picnic and let the kids (me and my bother, way back then) on a few rides, it was a really cheap outing.
I haven't been there in years though, at least 5 or so. I do remember I rode with my little sister (she was in her 20's) on the Comet at the time, and I noticed that, now that I am older, the fear of death in such situations kind of comes out LOL
The "Looper" I don't mind so much, it is a smooth ride. But the Comet reminds me too much of the Jack Rabbit of Rocky Springs fame (just south of Lancaster, long gone now).
Which ride, at Hershey park, are you referring to exactly? The Roter spun fast enough to get up to that, but I don't think that is there anymore.
I don't remember the name (I haven't been to Hershey in a few years either), but I do remember a sign saying =5g= in big bold letters. I'll have to look it up... just a minute:-)
Mar 8, 2010. 1:28 PMMillenniumMan
says:
It's the Time Tunnel, and it's at Kings Dominion in Virginia. The ride operators say you can't stand in it, but they're wrong. It's hard as hell to do.
Imagine a 200 lb me on the walls of the tube. That's 200 lbs of normal me, somewhere around 800-900 lbs of me on the surface of..... some big planet.... Or mooseknucke woman on the Maury Povich show.
Imagine a 200 lb me on the walls of the tube. That's 200 lbs of normal me, somewhere around 800-900 lbs of me on the surface of..... some big planet.... Or mooseknucke woman on the Maury Povich show.
Hmm, it must have been longer since I have been there, I don't remember that sign......and I probably would not have gotten into anything worse then the Super Dooper Looper, or the one kiddie roller coaster (in the far corner of the parks, I forgot it's name; but my wife likes this one LOL). :-)
I might be wrong, (the last time I was there I was, like, 10, so the letters might have seemed bigger at the time) I googled it, but couldn't find anything. Maybe The Whip, but I'm not sure. I do remember that you went into a circular room thingie, and that it went around in a circle(really fast:-). You were strapped onto the thing and it had blue padding. The force was so strong that it pressed my head against the blue padding. It was REALLY fun, tough. I do remember that much. :-)
I remember one (but can't remember the name...Hymalayan or something like that), but they took that one out. Someone was either hurt or killed accidentally on it.
YIKES! I hope so! Isn't there one called The Runaway Mouse or something like that? I remember a ride called something like that, my uncle took me on it and right before the ride started he told me that only a few people had been killed when the cars when over the edge (It was a really fast ride, and made really sharp turns). After the ride he told me that he was kidding, but it ruined the ride for me. But after I know he was kidding it was pretty fun. P.S.Sorry for all this in your forum, fungus amungus. If you want we can move this somewhere else. :-)
Yeah I remember that one.
The one I was looking for, and finally found, was called The TrailBlazer it really is a quick little roller coaster but is nice a smooth going like the Super Dooper Looper (in fact, it used that technology before the looper was in existence) but because it is a kids ride it has no loops ;-).
The one I was looking for, and finally found, was called The TrailBlazer it really is a quick little roller coaster but is nice a smooth going like the Super Dooper Looper (in fact, it used that technology before the looper was in existence) but because it is a kids ride it has no loops ;-).
Cool! My favorite rides are are the superfast ones. I went to universal studios a year or two ago, and I think that my favorite ride there was The Hulk. Well, either that or
Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. Both ROCK! I went on them OVER and OVER and OVER again.
Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. Both ROCK! I went on them OVER and OVER and OVER again.
if you mean making =5g= into
5g
it needs to be on "it's own line" to work. It is finicky that way ;-)
May 8, 2008. 11:43 AMPatrik
says:
The reasoning behind the "complete bed rest" study is that it provides a reasonable simulation of the long-term effects of weightlessness on the body.
The centrifuge study then is the logical follow-up: can astronauts avoid the long-term effects of weightlessness by spending an hour a day at a *higher* than 1g gravity.
A manned Mars expedition, for example, would have to spend at least half a year in space just to get to Mars. We know from experience that such long bouts of weightlessness - even with regular exercise - take a significant toll on the body. However, once the astronauts get to Mars, they have to be fit enough for very physically demanding tasks, in a Mars gravity.
This is why most designs for long-term space travel include spinning part of the ship on its axis, to provide artificial gravity. Question is - do they just need to spin a small "exercise" section, where the astronauts can get a high-G workout once a day? Or would they need to spin the entire ship, which would be a logistical nightmare (Coriolis forces, aiming antennas, different centrifugal forces throughout the cabin, etc...)
The centrifuge study then is the logical follow-up: can astronauts avoid the long-term effects of weightlessness by spending an hour a day at a *higher* than 1g gravity.
A manned Mars expedition, for example, would have to spend at least half a year in space just to get to Mars. We know from experience that such long bouts of weightlessness - even with regular exercise - take a significant toll on the body. However, once the astronauts get to Mars, they have to be fit enough for very physically demanding tasks, in a Mars gravity.
This is why most designs for long-term space travel include spinning part of the ship on its axis, to provide artificial gravity. Question is - do they just need to spin a small "exercise" section, where the astronauts can get a high-G workout once a day? Or would they need to spin the entire ship, which would be a logistical nightmare (Coriolis forces, aiming antennas, different centrifugal forces throughout the cabin, etc...)
The reasoning behind the "complete bed rest" study is that it provides a reasonable simulation of the long-term effects of weightlessness on the body.
This may be so for younger persons, for me it would only create a better possibility for me to end up with blood clots in my legs :-)
The centrifuge study then is the logical follow-up: can astronauts avoid the long-term effects of weightlessness by spending an hour a day at a *higher* than 1g gravity.
And that would only play havoc in my stomach *sigh* (if I went from the centrifugal force machine to weightlessness). But, it wouldn't be so bad if I came out of it, into regular gravity :-)
Or would they need to spin the entire ship, which would be a logistical nightmare (Coriolis forces, aiming antennas, different centrifugal forces throughout the cabin, etc...)
Just tossing a balled up piece of paper into a waste paper basket would be nearly impossible :-) Wow ! Did you see the curve I put on that !
This may be so for younger persons, for me it would only create a better possibility for me to end up with blood clots in my legs :-)
The centrifuge study then is the logical follow-up: can astronauts avoid the long-term effects of weightlessness by spending an hour a day at a *higher* than 1g gravity.
And that would only play havoc in my stomach *sigh* (if I went from the centrifugal force machine to weightlessness). But, it wouldn't be so bad if I came out of it, into regular gravity :-)
Or would they need to spin the entire ship, which would be a logistical nightmare (Coriolis forces, aiming antennas, different centrifugal forces throughout the cabin, etc...)
Just tossing a balled up piece of paper into a waste paper basket would be nearly impossible :-) Wow ! Did you see the curve I put on that !
May 9, 2008. 4:38 PMyourcat
says:
Think how out of shape I would get... not a chance of me doing that.
May 9, 2008. 5:33 PMPatrik
says:
That's precisely the point: muscle loss, bone loss, all of that good stuff... This is why they pay you $17K to participate, and why they include a recovery period at the end, to allow you to get back in shape before they throw you out on the street...
It looked like an old study, but I still applied. I am desperate for a break in the monotony that is my life. Do you think tularemia,malaria, and Dengue Fever will keep me from getting the gig?
May 8, 2008. 4:11 PMPatrik
says:
Here's some more info, from NASA's website:
One Man's Rest is Another Man's Research
Artificial Gravity for Long Space Missions (pdf)
- Yep, you stay horizontal the *whole* time, including eating, showering and going to the bathroom - no mention of diapers though...
- The centrifuge only does 2.5g - that's nothing compared to the forces jet fighters undergo in tight curves, but still enough to feel like a really fat person is sitting on top of you... If they use the small centrifuge in the pdf article, you would probably only barely get 1g at your head though.
One Man's Rest is Another Man's Research
Artificial Gravity for Long Space Missions (pdf)
- Yep, you stay horizontal the *whole* time, including eating, showering and going to the bathroom - no mention of diapers though...
- The centrifuge only does 2.5g - that's nothing compared to the forces jet fighters undergo in tight curves, but still enough to feel like a really fat person is sitting on top of you... If they use the small centrifuge in the pdf article, you would probably only barely get 1g at your head though.
2.5, Huh? There's a ride at hershey park that operates at 5g! (5 is faster than 2.5, right?) (It was a lot of fun!)
WHAT!?! Stay in bed strictly for 90 days!?! How do you stay clean, what can you do for 16 hours each day, and so on. I think I will pass BUT that $17,000 makes choices harder...
May 8, 2008. 3:01 PMhydrnium.h2
says:
Apparently, you lose something close to 40-60 percent of your body's muscle mass, which is all converted to fat. So don't be so excited, you probably would have difficulty walking after this.
When they say strict bed rest do they mean wearing a diaper, sponge bath bed rest? I'll pass.
May 7, 2008. 5:04 PMKeith-Kid
says:
straight? I could do this, but, at least a break every week!
Does it specify what things you can do in bed. Say videogames, eating, reading..
Wow...16 hours awake?!!
Does it specify what things you can do in bed. Say videogames, eating, reading..
Wow...16 hours awake?!!
May 7, 2008. 6:59 PMPoppa Chubby
says:
Really Keith, we don't want to know what you'd do in the bed. Really. :o
May 7, 2008. 6:57 PMKeith-Kid
says:
don't be stupid like that! Of course I'll tell you anyway!! Seriously, well have none of that humor here.
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