To simulate weightlessness resembling human spaceflight under microgravity conditions, either "bed rest with the head down" or "dry immersion in water" has been used since the seventies, especially by Russian space scientists.
Muscle atrophy and cardiovascular changes during head-down bed rest and dry immersion are similar but 3 days of dry immersion produces an identical effect magnitude as 21 days of head-down bed rest.
This time effectiveness favors dry immersion for research in space life sciences. In addition, in Russia, it is used as a clinical rehabilitation and therapy method for diverse disease conditions.
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Ongoing Studies:
Using a head-down tilt table, scientific studies are being conducted to investigate some parameters of human physiology (e.g. facial skin circulatory rhythms, cardiovascular response) at different angles.
As an example of our work on a related topic, our study published in the Journal of Acta Astronautica in 2020 can be cited: MUSCLE BLOOD CONTENT AND MUSCLE OXYGEN SATURATION IN RESPONSE TO HEAD DOWN AND HEAD UP TILT
In collaboration with experts from different disciplines, as of 2022, a roadmap is developed for manufacturing the dry immersion tank and the scientific studies that could be carried out in this tank.