A Japanese astronaut will fly in a vacuum environment on a carpet to assess the effects of weightlessness on the human body.
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Astronaut Koichi Wakata. Photo: Daily Mail. |
Koichi Wakata, a 45-year-old astronaut, will sit on the carpet as it floats in space. This is one of many unique experiments that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to conduct on the International Space Station (ISS) this month.
“Flying on a carpet is a myth on Earth, but we believe that humans can do it in outer space,” a spokesperson for JAXA stated.
Koichi will perform 16 tasks on the ISS this March, including administering eye drops, folding clothes, and arm wrestling with another astronaut. These activities were selected from hundreds of proposals submitted by the public to JAXA. Koichi is also the first astronaut from the land of cherry blossoms to live for three months on the ISS.
However, Koichi’s main mission is to evaluate the effects of weightlessness on the human body in space. In a weightless environment, the density of human bones decreases rapidly, up to ten times faster than it does on Earth. Finding ways to counteract these effects is essential for future Mars exploration efforts.
Koichi, a former engineer with Japan Airlines, will be a member of the seven-person crew aboard the Discovery spacecraft (USA). The spacecraft is scheduled for launch to the ISS on March 11. Previously, astronaut Koichi had traveled to space twice aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle in 1996 and 2000.
