Astronauts tend to become taller in weightlessness - causing back pain and making it difficult to fit into spacesuits. Astronauts may be more likely to suffer from 'slipped discs' after landing. Researchers at King's College London, UK, have been testing a Skinsuit to combat these problems, using a novel simulation of microgravity: adding magnesium salts to a half-filled waterbed. They were inspired by the Dead Sea, where swimmers float on the surface because of the high salt content.
"The high salt content provides additional buoyancy," explains study leader David A Green. "Our test subjects don't just sink to the bottom but float on the surface even though the bed is only half full. Furthermore, as heavier body segments such as hips sink into the bed in proportion to their mass, overall the body lies close to being horizontal in an entirely relaxed state," explains researcher Philip Carvil
The university and the Space Medicine Office of ESA's European Astronaut Centre have worked together to develop the Skinsuit, a spandex-based garment designed to squeeze the body from the shoulders to the feet like gravity. It is based on a garment conceived at the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology but with a number of design changes to improve wearability. These improvements led to ESA astronauts Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet testing Skinsuits during their missions to the International Space Station.