Video: Astronauts at the International Space Station have to work out every day to keep themselves healthy. This means they exercise two hours per day on three different machines — a bike, a treadmill and the so-called Advanced Restive Exercise Device (ARED) — to prevent loss of bone density and muscle mass. On the ISS there is enough space for these machines, but what about the less roomy deep-space vehicles like the Orion Spacecraft, on which NASA wants to send astronauts on long journeys to the moon and Mars?
The answer is a brand new space fitness machine, the Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2), a compact, lightweight, all-in-one exercise machine, designed for future spaceflight missions beyond Low Earth Orbit. It can be used for a total body workout, from squats and bending exercises for the legs, to arm exercises. This little machine really gets a lot done, as the short video published by NASA Johnson Space Center explains below. MED-2 is on its way to the space station for testing in microgravity, on Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft.
NASA Developed A Super Compact Fitness Machine For Deep Space Missions
