Measurement Device, Body Mass, Skylab

This equipment was developed for a biomedical experiment conducted by astronauts aboard Skylab, a U.S. space station occupied by three crews in 1973-1974. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the body mass of each crewmember and through daily checks to monitor changes during their time in space. The chair, suspended on springs from the frame, served as a scale. Correlating variations in body mass with other biomedical data helped scientists understand the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the astronauts' health and fitness.

NASA transferred this training version of the flight equipment to the Museum in 1979.