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POPSAstronauts need more exercise
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/astromuscles2.html : If the consequences of those missions are any guide, astronauts may have a difficult time recovering their full strength, and some may never regain it. And six months is the minimum time needed for a manned mission to reach Mars. However, the exercise of space station astronauts is limited to the machines they're given. Though a treadmill and stationary bicycle work fine, they're intended primarily for aerobic conditioning. Muscle strength is the responsibility of the Interim Resistance Exercise Device, or iRED — and, with a maximum resistance of just 300 pounds, it can't do the job. Simply maintaining muscle mass in space, said Trappe, requires a high-weight, low-repetition workout. The aRED is the first piece of NASA exercise equipment to meet this need. Providing resistance in each exercise are two piston-driven vacuum cylinders that are a bit like oversize bicycle pumps. Resistance increases as a piston is pul