NASA will pay you $19,000 to stay in bed for 2 months
Slobs of the world, here's a job for you.
NASA and two other space agencies are asking for 24 volunteers to lie in bed for two months as part of a study. The pay? About $19,000.
"We are looking for test persons to take part in a bed rest study from September to December 2019 in Cologne (Germany) and spend 60 days lying down," according to a statement from the German Aerospace Agency, NASA and the European Space Agency.
The point of the study is to "research how the body changes in weightlessness. Bed rest simulates this condition," the statement said. Based on the study results, scientists will develop techniques to reduce the negative effects of weightlessness on astronauts.
During the two months, the volunteers will live in a single room, but will be divided into groups. One group will be rotated around in a centrifuge, similar to an artificial gravity chamber, which will force blood back into their extremities, ABC News reported.
A second group will not be moved.
A previous study participant, identified as Janja, said that "participation in the study was a very special and good experience for me....What surprised me the most: after a few days my body got used to the bed rest, it was much easier than I had imagined. I did not get bored by the many exciting experiments, on the contrary, time flew by."
And when they say you'll do everything while lying down, they aren't kidding: People must eat, exercise, get dressed and even shower while lying flat on their beds. Another catch: The participants’ beds are tilted slightly downward to encourage fluids to pool in the upper body, NBC News said.
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The study will take place in a special, state-of-the-art facility known as the "envihab," which comes from the words environment and habitat.
Applications for the study are available online from the German Aerospace Agency. The agency is looking for 12 men and 12 women volunteers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA will pay you $19,000 to stay in bed for 2 months
