--- title: "NASA Brags About Plan to Torment Astronauts With Brutal Military Machine" description: "NASA plans to use a device that \"can vigorously spin occupants like laundry churning in a washing machine\" to train astronauts." date: "2023-05-20" modified: "2023-05-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-navy-spinning-machine" categories: - "Military" - "NASA" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "NASA" - "Navy" - "Space travel" - "the digest" --- # NASA Brags About Plan to Torment Astronauts With Brutal Military Machine ![NASA plans to use a device that "can vigorously spin occupants like laundry churning in a washing machine" to train astronauts.]() *\Image: US Navy\* ## Puke Cube NASA seems oddly proud to announce that it plans to use a US Navy spinning machine to train its astronauts for the disorientating tumult of spaceflight. And we gotta admit, the device sounds brutal. "A monster of a machine is now allowing NASA scientists to study on Earth the disorientation that astronauts may encounter in space," NASA gloated in a [recent blog post]() about the Navy's "Kraken," a device that "can vigorously spin occupants like laundry churning in a washing machine." According to NASA, the collaboration is meant to help "build strategies that aim to ease motion sickness." And while the Kraken sounds like a nightmarish carnival ride that has gone off the rails, those strategies may even help "patients with balance issues here on Earth." Go off, NASA! ## Transitional Sickness According to astronaut Douglas Wheelock, the queasiness of going off-world is no joke. "Shortly after liftoff in the space shuttle, I felt like I was on a merry-go-round as my body hunted for what was up, down, left, and right," Wheelock told the agency. "Crew must prepare for the confusion that they will likely undergo during these gravitational transitions." And helping astronauts deal with that confusion is apparently the bread and butter of the Kraken, a whopping device that is 50 feet long and weighs 100 tons. "The first time I saw the Kraken in person, I was impressed by how large and agile the machine is," said Laura Bollweg, an astronaut health research manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, in the blog post. "With the ability to move six directions on its axis, the device can simulate complex flight scenarios that are difficult to recreate on Earth, including landing scenarios that could induce vertigo and nausea," she added. Experts say the device could help NASA determine what kind of head movements astronauts need to make to recover their sense of balance, which could make or break the experience of space travel. Either way, this knowledge significantly dampens our desire to go to space anytime soon, exorbitant costs notwithstanding — enduring an experience that apparently feels like being put through the spin cycle sounds like a big price to pay. **More on the brutalities of space:** *[Scientists Issue Warning About Sex in Space]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()