Table of Contents

Experiments

VCF: Dave performing a Visuo-Motor Coordination Facility (VCF) experiment

The first experiment involving Canadian investigators is called Visuo-Motor Coordination Facility. What does this mean? 
Let's see. 
Astronauts, who are perfectly well coordinated on earth, suddenly become klutzes when they reach space. Why is this? 
You guessed it: microgravity!

Hand-eye coordination designed to work in earth's gravity just doesn't work well in space. An astronaut's arm will feel "lighter" in space and tend to over reach.

Do astronauts adapt to "weightlessness" and regain the sharp hand-eye coordination they had on earth? That's one of the questions this experiment seeks to answer. 

Astronauts performed pointing and grasping tasks in "virtual reality" (ok... a computer screen) before, during and after flight to collect information about changes and adaptations in their ability to point and grasp. 

Visual Cues in Spatial Orientation is the name of the second Canadian experiment.

This experiment deals with the fact that, in microgravity, astronauts lose the sense of where "up" and "down" are and may become sick (by motion sickness) because of this. Gross! barf in space!

VEG: An astronaut trying the Virtual Environment Generator (VEG)

How quickly do astronauts switch from using their balance organs (in the ears) to using visual cues alone? (To reduce barfing!) If "fake gravity" is applied to the astronauts feet, can this change their perception of "up" and "down"? How quickly do astronauts re-adapt when they return to earth? These are the questions this experiment seeks to answer. 
Astronauts were tested before and after flight in a spherical room with no useful visual cues and in a cubic room with and without furniture. Check out the pictures! 
In flight a "Virtual Environment Generator" or VEG was used to simulate these rooms.

The Sphere, a spherical room, and the Polarized Room, a cubic room with furniture, are used to test astronauts' visual cues before and after flight.