“We encourage volunteers to reach their maximum effort on the bike, and then compare the impact with those who are not biking at all,” explains Rebecca Billette, head of clinical research at MEDES, the Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France.

Researchers will compare cycling in bed and cycling as the volunteers are spun on a centrifuge and a third control group that stays in bed for the full two months with no exercise bike or centrifuge rides. “We will compare the impact of a daily exercise routine on a variety of physiological factors,” adds Rebecca.

This is the first time cycling is part of a bedrest study in Europe.