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In 1994, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French Space Agency (CNES) organized a long-term weightlessness simulation based on bed-rest; this experimental campaign was contracted for its execution to the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology (MEDES). Height healthy male subjects participated in this experiment and stayed in bed-rest in a head-down tilt position (-6° vs. horizontal) during 42 days. During this experiment, the responses of several physiological systems to weightlessness simulation were studied: i.e. cardiovascular system, renal function, adaptations to exercise, muscle tissues, bone, immune system and metabolism.

The French Space Agency (CNES) has developed a “wet” suit based on the Soviet flight suit. This concept, which requires a breathing system for underwater tests, has been fully validated by a replay of a real French-Soviet EVA space operation. The prototype offers the main advantage of placing both the astronaut and the suit in neutral buoyancy during EVA training. The man-machine interfaces were checked during several donning-doffing operations in simulations of weightlessness both in water and in parabolic flights. These experiments were analyzed from an ethological point of view to correlate the mechanical constraints of the suit with human motor performance. The ethological approach is characterized by the observation, description and quantification of the astronaut's behaviour when performing various tasks. Video recordings are made of his motor activity (orientation, movement and posture) in real or experimental situations such as water immersion or parabolic flights.

DASSAULT and COMEX have developed a “wet” suit prototype, under a one year CNES contract, for the simulation of the Soviet EVA flight suit during underwater trainings. This concept, full of water and requiring a breathing system, allows to perfectly balance the astronaut in a neutrally buoyant suit like in 0-g environment. The modelling of real pressurized joints has been overcome by means of adjustable mechanical articulations the principle of which is fully described. The prototype performances and representativity have been evaluated and validated through underwater donning/doffing and the replay of an actual EVA already performed in space by Soviet-French astronauts. This suit prototype is available today, for the European space system designers to evaluate the future EVA operations to refine the procedures and hardware requirements. The suit concept capabilities, linked to its high modularity and low development duration, are finally discussed.