Anicet Mbida 6:55 am, November 12, 2021
Every day, Anicet Mbida makes us discover an innovation that could well change the way we consume.
This Friday, he explains to us the principle of the combination which reproduces gravity for astronauts.
We remember the images of Thomas Pesquet coming out of the capsule on a stretcher. Not because he was sick. But because he lost a lot of muscle mass after six months in zero gravity. This will all be over soon. We prepare a suit that will allow walking immediately upon returning to earth.
A combination that reproduces gravity to keep all your muscles in top shape.
We have already explained it on this antenna: spending six months in zero gravity is like spending six months lying down, 24 hours a day, in a bed.
As the leg and back muscles are no longer used, they eventually atrophy.
This is why astronauts need three to four weeks of rehabilitation when they return to earth.
This combination will automatically and permanently contract all the muscles that would naturally be used when you are standing or sitting on the ground.
Which should prevent astronauts from losing muscle mass.
How does the combination work to contract the muscles?
It will press in specific places on the backs, thighs and calves.
This will force you to maintain your posture rather than let yourself float.
It also has electrodes that will stimulate certain muscles and contract them (like elec-sports) to give the impression of doing push-ups or squats… exercises that are impossible to perform in weightlessness.
Do we know if it works?
Has it been tested?
Yes, but for now only on land in a gravity simulator and on parabolic flights.
This is a project led by the Darper Laboratory.
Their objective: to be ready for the great return of NASA to the Moon (the mission has just been postponed to 2025).
I think Americans would be very proud to see their astronauts come out of the capsule in slow motion, on their own two feet, with the music behind… like in science fiction movies