Can you imagine spending eight weeks in bed? ESA is looking for 24 women who are prepared to do just that!
The volunteers must be 25 to 40, non-smokers and in good health. They must also be prepared to remain in bed at all times.
With rooms shared between two, everyone will have a TV, a laptop with Internet access and a telephone. Meals will be served bedside, and showers will be taken on special plastic-coated beds.
For the women who are chosen, it could be an ideal chance to catch up on reading, to learn a new language, or just chill out.
But the Women International Space Simulation for Exploration (WISE) study has a serious side. The subjects will be closely monitored in order to learn more about the effects of long-term bed rest on the body.
Lying head-down for several months triggers bone and muscle loss, and changes in blood pressure and heart rate. Similar changes are experienced by astronauts on long space flights.
Space agencies from France, Canada and the USA are also taking part in the WISE study. It will take place at the Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France, from late February 2005.
