Participants must lie in bed for up to two months and solve all of their daily lives, such as eating and defecating.
According to the Chinese media Gwangmyeong Network, the Chinese Astronaut Training Center announced on the 6th that it would openly recruit male volunteers to participate in the so-called bed experiment, a space medicine research project.
The selected volunteers will live in bed for 15 to two months. Applicants are Chinese men aged 30 to 55. They must have an academic background of at least middle school graduation, and their bodies and minds must be healthy.
During the experiment period, participants should take care of all daily activities such as meals, washing, and defecation on their beds. “During the experiment period, meals are provided en masse,” a source at the center told local media. “All activities of eating, drinking, and defecating must be laid down, and separate measures will be taken for this.”
Cell phone use is permitted. However, participants should maintain a fixed posture. Reading books and personal activities are also possible only as long as they remain in bed and do not interfere with the progress of experiments.
Volunteers who have completed the experiment will be paid 20,000 to 70,000 yuan depending on the period.
The bed experiment is interpreted as a research method to examine the effects of the low-gravity environment on the human body on the ground. This is because if the lying down for a long time continues, muscles and bones weaken as they do during the stay in space, and the distribution of body fluids may change.
Through this experiment, the researchers plan to confirm physical changes and verify that countermeasures to protect the health of astronauts are effective.
The test will be conducted only for men. The center said, “We will also conduct a bed test to recruit female volunteers.”
The requirements for volunteers are also relatively demanding. Applicants should be 160-175 cm tall and 18.5-26 in body mass index (BMI). Both eyes should have naked eye vision of at least 0.1 and correction vision of at least 0.8 in each. There should also be no color blindness.
In addition, there should be no history of severe snoring and sleepwalking. People with a history of psychological, mental, genetic, or infectious diseases cannot be supported. Habits that rely on cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and the Internet are also subject to restrictions.
The Chinese astronaut training center has experience in conducting similar bed experiments in the past. The center has conducted bed experiments on the 15, 60, and 90 days. A center official said, “We have recruited similar volunteers in the past, and most of them have held out until the end.”
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
