NASA Offers $19,000 to Volunteers to Just Lie in Bed for 60 Days Watching TV or Sleeping

NASA

Are you one of those who would leap at the opportunity of getting paid to just lounge around in bed watching your favorite television shows? Then this job opportunity is worth considering.

NASA is offering nearly $19,000 for successful applicants to stay in bed for two months to play games, eat, sleep, watch movies, and read your favorite books. Remember, there is to be no getting out of bed for 60 days, even lifting your head may be forbidden.

NASA worked with German Space Agency on a study with volunteers lying in bed for a month to help advance he understanding of how to keep humans safe in deeper space in 2017. (©NASA)

The German Aerospace Center, working with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), will run a study in Cologne between September and  December 2019 with 24 volunteers to determine how the body is affected by weightlessness.

With the bed rest study, NASA is trying to understand the effects of “artificial gravity” on the body, which in turn might benefit astronauts who spend a long time in space.

The 24 volunteers consisting of both males and females will be divided into two groups of 12 each, but all of them will be housed in a single room. In order to mimic the effect of being in space, the participants will be put on a bed that is inclined at an angle of the 6 degrees at the head. This will reduce the blood flow to the extremities, further resulting in numbness and muscle deterioration.

One group of volunteers will be subjected to spin in a centrifuge to force blood to flow to the extremities, whilst the other group is not subjected to this.

There will be a team of health and scientific professionals ready to assist on hand, and participants will be monitored round the clock for the period of 60 days.

According to ESA, volunteers go through “acclimatization and recovery” for 29 days after the 60-day period.

With the comparisons derived between the two groups, scientists will be able to conclude the effect of “artificial gravity.”

In order to apply for this job, applicants must be aged between 24–55, are required to be healthy, and must know the German language.

The German Aerospace Center has set up a multi-stage selection process. The first step involves a questionnaire, then a followup event, and finally a mental and physical fitness examination, according to Fox10.

There can be long-term health effects on the body from constant weightlessness, such as bone and muscle weakness, and short-term problems can also occur.

When Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper spent two weeks in space during STS-115 mission on the shuttle Atlantis in 2006, after returning to Earth, she collapsed twice at a press conference, as her body had not adjusted back to Earth’s gravity, according to SPACE.

The effects on muscles and bones of astronauts living in space can be offset by an exercise regime for a few hours every day using specialized exercise equipment.

So back to the job opening in Cologne, can you tolerate lying around for the most part of 60 days, knowing there is a fat bonus of $18,565 at the end? If so, here is the website for more information on how to apply.