The Year in Space study currently in progress will give NASA a pretty good idea of what it will take to survive a trip to Mars. One of the biggest obstacles: Weightlessness in microgravity could cause Mars explorers' vision to degrade en route as fluids shift up to the skull, placing strain on the eyes.
To combat this potential condition, NASA is launching a Fluid Shifts investigation. The study includes tests using a Russian-made lower body pressure negative suit. "Suit" is a bit of a misnomer, though–really it's a giant set of rubber pants from which air may be removed, pulling the blood from the upper torso to the legs. It could relieve fluid pressure in the head and behind the eyes, thereby slowing some of the worst effects of long-duration weightlessness.
The pants are sometimes called a Chibis suit. The only Chibis suit currently aboard the International Space Station is kept on the Russian side of the station, while many of the sensors for the test are on the international side. As Americans and Russians work out a shared custody arrangement for the ISS Chibis suit, NASA must turn to more terrestrial forms of testing. One workaround? Strap a person into these ridiculous-looking pants and have them lie head-down on a tilted bed. Then watch the results, hopefully with a straight face.
