“A first in Europe”: several women tested weightlessness at the Toulouse space clinic
The last two volunteers left the study on December 10. Since September, around twenty women have followed one another in the baths of the space clinic for a study in dry immersion, without contact with water, within the Medes. “This is a first for the European Space Agency (ESA)”, specifies Arnaud Beck, director of clinical research. Created in 1996 for clinical research and evaluation, the Toulouse University Hospital Space Clinic is part of Medes, the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology.
These simulation studies aim to collect data on the impact of weightlessness on the body. Numerous tests were thus carried out on volunteers, both on the cardiovascular, muscular and stimulated systems as well as on the level of proprioception, the ability to locate one’s body in space. “We wanted to validate this model in women, because dry immersion makes it possible to observe a change in many parameters very quickly”, continues Arnaud Beck.
She grew 3 cm in 5 days!
Tania Gres, 24, a graduate of IPSA Toulouse, participated in this study. “I am part of an association for gender equality in the space industry and I was sensitive to the idea of having more data on women in a situation of weightlessness,” she explains. “And I also wanted to try to get out of my comfort zone. “After 12 days of study, therefore 5 spent in dry immersion, she does not regret her choice. “It’s a very good memory. It was a big challenge because I don’t like blood tests. It was also complicated because I like to move but we concentrate on other things, ”says Tania.
If she had the impression “of being a bit like on water, more dense and drier”, she claims to have quickly had back pain. It must be said that she grew 3 cm in five days. “After the experience, I had some balance issues and I feel that I lost a lot in cardio. But this study has supplemented my knowledge of the space sector ”, rejoices the young woman.