ESA bedrest studies - BRACE and BRAVE
Ground-based spaceflight analogs have been developed by space agencies overtime to overcome the limits of researching astronauts going on missions to space. Head-down bed rest (HDBR) is a spaceflight analog model where participants are bedridden with their heads tilted 6° downward. This set-up mimics the unloading of the lower limbs and a redistribution of bodily fluids that trigger adaptations to circulatory systems in the body, among which the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this study, we acquire brain MRI scans of 48 HDBR participants at multiple time points before, during, and after a HDBR period of 60 days. This project is divided over four campaigns, of which two comprise the bedrest with artificial gravity and cycling exercise (BRACE), and two comprise the bedrest with artificial gravity and vibration exercise (BRAVE). 24 subjects participated in BRACE, which took place between April 2023 and April 2024 in Toulouse, France (Medes), and 24 other subjects will participate in BRAVE, which will take December 2025 in Planica, Slovenia.
Duration: 2023 - present
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Bedrest study
