A video released by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows the astronauts aboard the ISS (International Space Station) doing a kind of dance worthy of the TikTok. The images are funny and even have a disco soundtrack. But none of this was a joke: and science can prove it.
Astronauts Thomas Pesquet (France) and Shane Kimbrough (USA) were preparing for a spacewalk, in which they would repair solar panels that help generate power for the ISS module and are part of the site’s constant improvement program.
Until the crew recorded some scenes of them “shaking the skeleton”.
“We weren’t actually dancing, we were ridding our bodies of nitrogen,” explained Pesquet as he posted the scene on his Flickr profile.
“We breathe pure oxygen and, little by little, all the nitrogen in our body is replaced by oxygen, which is safer when you get out of high pressure. [da Estação Espacial] for low pressure [do traje espacial]”he added.
According to the Frenchman, light exercises like these dances help astronauts breathe more oxygen, which expels nitrogen from the body faster.
decompression sickness
Astronaut dancing is part of the official spacewalk procedure and is actually a form of protection against decompression sickness (also known as dysbarism), an old acquaintance of astronauts, cosmonauts (as they are called in Russia) and others professionals who need to wear special pressurized suits, such as divers.
Dysbarism occurs when the body undergoes a rapid reduction in environmental pressure, so that the gases that are dissolved in the bloodstream can give rise to bubbles, which lead to obstruction of blood vessels, causing pain and other symptoms.
“Gas bubbles can cause astronauts to feel pain in their shoulders, elbows, wrists and knees. This pain is called ‘bend’ because it affects where the body bends,” NASA said in a statement.
While dancing is a far more charming method of avoiding disbarism, astronauts can also move to an intermediate space station cabin. There the pressure is reduced, allowing astronauts to safely rid their bodies of nitrogen before leaving the station.
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