Astronauts Undergo Brain-Motion Tests
From Times Wire Reports
Space shuttle Columbia’s astronauts went round and round in a centrifuge chair so scientists could observe how the brain interprets motion in weightlessness, officials at Cape Canaveral said. One by one, the crewmen were spun at 45 rpm to achieve the force of Earth’s gravity. Their heads were covered so they could not see that they were turning. Their eye movements were measured, allowing researchers to estimate the amount of centrifugal force being felt. A little taller than when they rocketed into orbit last Friday, the astronauts had trouble fitting into the chair. As is often the case, weightlessness caused their spines to stretch.
