For @People_Of_Space followers who don't know me! My @pillownaut handle is a reference to spaceflight simulations at Johnson Space Center. In #NASA quarantine, one of the few comforts flight analogs can have during simulations is a comfy pillow, LOL...! #PillownautTale 
I did a 70+ day Micro-Gravity Study (where I spent 54 days at a head-down tilt) and a 21-day Lunar Gravity study -- both intended to give #NASA data on how to keep astronauts more healthy by developing countermeasures to weightlessness. #PillownautTale
When humans leave the Earth gravity under which we evolved, we suffer heart enlargement, muscle atrophy, bone de-mineralization, plasma volume drops, vestibular disturbance (loss of balance), & other superfun things that could spell death on Mars. #PillownautTale (Credit NOVA au)
Analog screening was CRAZY-INTENSE. I passed the Class IV astronaut flight physical at #NASA #JSC for 3 consecutive years: pillownaut.com/webs/screening… 16,000+ people applied in that timeframe. 32 were accepted. (I was #18 & the only Trekkie, haha). #PillownautTale
Once you get over the elation of being accepted into the #NASA program, you find their goal in life is to make you as miserable as possible: running & cycling to exhaustion, 70 blood draws from hands, arms, & feet, tilt tables, etc. goo.gl/2n2ajE #PillownautTale
This is the complete list of tests and protocols spaceflight analogs endure: pillownaut.com/tests/tests.ht… Daily protocols are strict. Must eat measured food & water. No salt, sugar, alcohol, caffeine. No direct sunlight. And no WALKING once your sim begins. #PillownautTale
When you're done, much like when #NASA #ESA #RSA cosmonauts & astronauts come home from orbit, you cannot walk, balance, or drive a car. Leaving gravity takes adjustment... but returning to gravity is sheer hell. Nausea accompanies every stage, coming and going. #PillownautTale
It's not all terrible, however. Participants get to undergo parts of astronaut training, see an incredible part of #NASA science efforts, and engage in creative pursuits during downtime. Here I am painting the prominent #ISS partners. #PillownautTale
I joked that I was a "Pillow Astronaut." But that moniker was too long for Blogspot's name field. I shortened it to "Pillownaut." News outlets happened across my blog, & I wound up on Wired, PopSci, Fox, SkyNews, Universe Today,NPR, Forbes,etc. What a crazy time! #PillownautTale
Sometimes, I miss all the press attention and requests for print, radio, & TV interviews. Most days, I don't miss it, though. I was sometimes mis-quoted, and continually frustrated at how many thought it was a "sleep study." IT WAS UNBELIEVABLY HARD WORK. #PillownautTale
Not long after, #NASA & #ESA began to refer to all astronaut analogs as "pillownauts" in general. Press also used the term in articles after I left the program. #PillownautTale 10 YEARS LATER, THE TERM I [very accidentally] COINED IS STILL BEING USED! is.gd/JEbhn9
I subsequently spent years recruiting for the programs, because #NASA needs way way way more data (particularly on women) before there's a hint of a chance that we'll survive long-duration missions, or on Mars. Because space travel sucks: goo.gl/KqdHMb #PillownautTale
Back then, I signed a stack of papers nearly up to my waist about how I understood that I might suffer lifelong complications to my muscles, brain, bones, or eyesight by doing these simulations. Astronauts REGULARLY RISK ALL THESE THINGS to fly their missions. #PillownautTale
I too was willing to take the risks in order to add to #NASA data sets. If we ever set boots on Mars, I'll be able to say: "I contributed a small part of that." My recent DXA bone scan shows no long term effects. Yet. Fingers crossed that stays the same! 😃👩🚀🚀 #PillownautTale
