I filled in their very invasive forms and went along to JSC for the tests. I got a strong feeling that they were actually doing something other than described, and possibly abusing their position to take samples for FREE. They took a lot of blood from my arm, and dismissed me telling me that my BMI was too high.
Considering that I am a former athlete (2 silver medals from the Commonwealth games) with considerable developed muscle my opinion is that they are looking for people who are unusually skinny with no developed muscle at all, which seems odd when you'd expect that an athlete with a daily regime of gym work, would be type of people they'd be after. I'm also an ex-Nurse who worked previously in research, so tend to know what I am talking about.
Contrary to popular fiction found online, I was not paid for my time or the journey out to Clear Lake. So don't even count on their $10 an hour they claim you will get for participation.
Bottom line is, if you have any build at all, then you'd be wasting your time doing the tests. BMI as many of you probably know already is a silly approximation which does not take into account developed muscle mass or even ethnic traits of many people's such as stalkiness or anything else that makes people different. Simple height to weight ratios with one size fits all are unscientific.
Meanwhile I have read some snooty opinions from one or two bed rest participants on their blogs where they alluded to themselves as being superfit people, I posit that they are not, and are deluding themselves.
In conclusion, I believe that certain racial groups could not pass these tests, and anyone who has ever been athletic at all or with a history of keeping fit also could not pass these tests. If you are skinny or even anorexic and otherwise resembling a stick insect, then who knows. Don't believe all you read.
Heather Archuletta isn’t an astronaut. But if the U.S. space program ever lands on Mars, she’s taking partial credit.
A three-time participant in NASA’s bed rest studies, Archuletta gives up weeks of her life for research on how space travel affects astronauts’ bones, muscles and blood. In 2008, Archuletta, 40, an IT professional from Texas, was one of six people paid $160 a day to participate in a 90-day microgravity bed rest study. By remaining in bed for weeks at a time, the participants simulate gravity on a space station. (The research was halted at 50 days because Hurricane Ike forced the evacuation of Galveston, where the research was conducted.)
NASA continues to recruit new study participants. Archuletta, who hopes to join another study this spring, spoke with me yesterday about the bed rest research — and why she thinks it’s more important than ever.
In the microgravity study, you had to lie in bed tilted six degrees back. What effect did that have on your body?
The first couple days you lie there going, “What did I get myself into?” But I’m a huge space enthusiast and it was a dream come true for me to be at NASA, so I stuck with it. They assured me that everything you’re going through is what astronauts go through, so that’s what kept me going. You get changes in blood pressure, heart rate and even the fillings in my molars were throbbing. It’s such a change to the body.
What was a typical day like during that study?
We get up at 6 o’clock everyday. They play music through our speakers just like they do at a space station. We are weighed every morning on an industrial scale. They make very, very specific amounts of food and water for you, so you stay at your target weight. There are times when you have to report to tests. People come in and wheel you into different rooms. They were taking 3-D sonograms of my heart and testing my muscle strength.
You’re not allowed to nap during the day. You have to stay active. Everybody has their own television. I wanted to learn sign language, so I got books on American Sign Language and watched signing videos. I’m a big reader, too. I tore through 30 books. There’s a common room where everybody can join for meals and do arts and crafts and watch movies together.
You use a bedpan. They have a special shower with a mesh gurney that you can roll onto because you have to bathe at [an angle of] negative six degrees.
How long did it take you to recover?
It was like someone was shoving knives into my feet [when I first tried to walk]. An ambulance took us to a hospital in Austin to recuperate. They had a physical therapist travel up there with us and he helped us with stretches and special exercises everyday. You’d walk for a little while, but then use a wheelchair for an hour. It was about a month before I was getting back into my own exercise routine. It took about two weeks until I could drive a car again.
What are the risks involved in these bed rest studies?
You’ll have changes in the blood. You may have lowered bone density. Your muscles will certainly change. It was not an easy choice to make. I had a few moments of thinking, “I’ve only got one body and if anything really happens to me, what if it’s not reversible?”
Knowing the risks and with the misgivings you had, what finally motivated you to participate?
Mars. I so want to see us land on Mars in our lifetime. And we’ve got the technology to do it. We’ve got the propulsion technology; we’ve got the spacecraft technology. The last piece of the puzzle is the human factor. We’ve gotten robots there; we can get a craft there. The bigger question is, “Can we get a human there healthy enough to collect rocks once he lands?” And if that ever does happen, I’m so proud that I’ll be able to say I was a tiny little part of that.
But with the president calling for an end to NASA’s moon program, are these bed rest studies still relevant?
Yes. Now more than ever. We can’t stop being visionary because we don’t have the money right now. Whether we go to Mars in 10 years or we go to Mars in 100 years, what we’re learning now on the space station and what we’re learning now in these studies will still be relevant when we reach Mars or a Mars moon or an asteroid. I think it’s just going to be further in the future than we had hoped.
Photo: Courtesy of Heather Archuletta
