The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Volunteer of the Vivaldi III dry immersion campaign during a meal break.
For 10 days, volunteers remain in this position inside containers filled with water. Participants take part in a wide range of medical experiments and scientific studies to help researchers understand how space affects the human body.
During meals, they use a floating board and a neck pillow. For bathroom breaks, participants are temporarily transferred onto a trolley, maintaining their laid-back position at all times.
Dry-immersion baths are used to recreate aspects of living in weightlessness on Earth. Volunteers lay down in containers similar to bathtubs covered with a waterproof fabric to keep them dry and evenly suspended in water. The studies benefit from placing less pressure on the body as volunteers are supported and suspended evenly in the tub, a condition that mimics the floating astronauts experience on the International Space Station.
The results from this type of research does not only benefit astronauts but has implications for people on Earth who are bedridden for long periods of time.