Scientists study astronaut's eyes

When astronauts go to space, their eyes deform. 

In a study published in the peer-reviewed science journal, JAMA Ophthalmology, scientists said they wanted to see if they could reproduce on earth the effects of 30 days of spaceflight. Test subjects underwent 30 days of bed rest with their heads tilted.

Eleven "healthy" participants rested with their heads tilted at a six degree angle, along. The study then compared data collected from 20 astronauts before and during 30 days of spaceflight.

The study concluded that bed rest resulted in different "magnitude" of edema (swelling) in the eyes compared to space travel. 

“It is possible that a mild, long-term elevation in intracranial pressure experienced by individuals exposed to bed rest is greater than the intracranial pressure experienced by astronauts during spaceflight, which may explain the different severity of optic disc edema between the cohorts.”

Scientists hope this kind of research and information will help them develop countermeasures to protect astronauts' eyes in the future.