Since 2001, there has been a bike on the International Space Station (ISS). Indeed, humans have been cycling in space for 20 years now! To celebrate this achievement, and on the occasion of the World Championships for cycling, I interviewed ESA astronaut Frank De Winne about past, current and future biking exercise activities in space.
Frank De Winne was the first European commander of the ISS and is the current Head of ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne
In order to counteract decreases in muscle strength, bone mass, and aerobic capacity, the ISS crew members perform a daily physical exercise programme of about 2 hours. Among the onboard exercise devices are two stationary bikes. Could you explain what’s it like to cycle in space and how it works?
Cycling in space is of course a bit different than here on Earth. Because of microgravity, you are actually floating on the bike and so you don’t need a saddle to sit on. A motor inside the bike provides resistance to the pedalling. Via an electronic panel, you can then either change manually the resistance that you have, or you can download a programme built by a fitness instructor on the ground. This way, you can have different levels of intensity throughout your training programme.
It is actually way more difficult to bike in space. If you can pedal at 150 or 200 Watts here on the ground, in space it becomes really difficult. When you look at professional cyclists you see that they really hold themselves very close to the bike. A lot of force also comes from the lower back, but in space you don’t have that. Since you are floating on the bike you cannot use the rest of your body strength. Everything needs to come from the muscles in the thighs which makes it harder to bike the same amount of wattage than what you can do here on the ground.
Alexander Gerst exercising on the CEVIS cycle ergometer
Did you have a favorite exercise device during your time onboard the ISS?
Not really, I think it is important to have a change. If you would have to bike or run every day, it would not be good. The fact that you have different devices and can do different kinds of exercises every day is very important for the crew.
There are two different bikes on the ISS: the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System “CEVIS” and the Russian Velo Ergometer. Are both models accessible to the whole crew?
Normally, on the US side astronauts use the CEVIS and on the Russian side cosmonauts use the VELO. I have only used the CEVIS, which is actually built in Europe by the Danish Aerospace Company. We are now also working together with that company to develop an exploration exercise device that would combine different exercise devices in one single model for future space missions.
As part of the Immersive Exercise Experiment, astronauts will be able to pedal in space while riding through Earth landscapes with a virtual reality headset. The Immersive Exercise technology should keep astronauts motivated on the International Space Station and improve their performance – an important aspect to consider on longer missions to the Moon and even Mars. Will this virtual environment on the Space Station’s bike make a big difference for the daily exercise routine?
We will have to wait for the results of the experiment, but I believe it is always nice to have some distraction during the exercise. During my own exercises, I liked having a laptop in front of the device to watch some movies or series. At that time, we also had a sort of landscape following the training programme so that when the resistance increased you also had the visual feedback to get a sense of biking uphill. However, I still preferred to watch movies or series instead.
Replicating real world courses such as on modern day trainers and virtual cycling platforms, is that really something feasible in the near future for long term space missions?
I am sure that our exercise specialists are looking into that, but it also depends on the crew members. Crew members are no different than people here on the ground. Some of them just want to bike, others like to have an immersive experience. I know that some crew members are using that kind of technology when they exercise here on the ground, and I am sure that in the future possibilities like this will exist for the crew members if it helps them.
Maybe there can be a challenge for astronauts to do a virtual race against people on a stationary bike on Earth?
We actually already did something similar for running. Astronaut Tim Peake ran a marathon onboard the ISS during the London Marathon in 2016. During his exercise there was this immersive environment on screen so that he could watch himself running together with the people through the streets of London.
Final question, and maybe the most important one; the World Championships for cycling will take place from 19 to 26 September in Belgium, who is your favorite for the Men Elite Road Race on Sunday?
Well, I am Belgian so I will say Wout van Aert!