Stay in Bed for 2 Months, Get Paid $19K

One catch: you'll need to speak German, but it's all in the name of science
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 29, 2019 1:18 PM CDT
Stay in Bed for 2 Months, Get Paid $19K
Not a bad deal?   (Getty Images/ake1150sb)

Hate standing on your feet all day? So much that the thought of staying in bed for two months is appealing? Good news: You can do just that, contribute to NASA research, and get paid $19,000 for your trouble—so long as you speak German and are free from September to December. NASA and the European Space Agency are looking for participants to spend 60 days in bed at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne—plus an additional 19 days preparing and recovering—in a study on "Artificial Gravity Bed Rest." Essentially, researchers are looking to better understand the effects of long-term weightlessness on the body. "Bed rest simulates this condition," reads a German-language statement, per USA Today.

Participants aged 24 to 55 will undergo blood, muscle, and cognitive function tests as they exercise, eat, and shower, keeping at least one shoulder on the mattress at all times, reports NBC News. The beds will be tilted a bit so fluids move to the upper body when the person is lying down, per CNN. Some participants will spend time each day being rotated in a human centrifuge, which will force blood to the extremities. In the end, participants won't just be richer; they can boast of providing new techniques to reduce the negative effects of weightlessness on future astronauts. (First up: a return to the moon.)

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