Astronauts use vertical treadmill

CLEVELAND, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. astronauts preparing for long-duration space missions are using a new treadmill that allows them to run while being suspended horizontally.

Engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland built the "Standalone Zero Gravity Locomotion Simulator" to imitate conditions astronauts experience while exercising in space. The new machine will be used to develop improved exercise routines for astronauts to conduct during spaceflight.

The treadmill simulates zero gravity by suspending human test subjects horizontally to remove their torso, head and limbs from the normal pull of gravity. Participants are pulled toward a vertically mounted treadmill system where they can run or walk. The forces against a test subject's feet are precisely controlled and can mimic conditions of zero gravity in low Earth orbit or conditions on the moon, which has one-sixth the gravity of Earth.

In addition to simulating exercise protocols, the device may be used to imitate the physiological effects of spacewalking, NASA said.

The Cleveland Clinic collaborated with NASA in developing the treadmill and is conducting bed-rest studies with a similar device to understand how exercise during simulated spaceflight affects muscles and bones.