See Sports Astronauts With Treadmills On The Space Station

Matthias Maurer shows how to use tread miles on the ISS. (photo: doc. ESA)

JAKARTA - Have you ever asked whether the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) also do regular exercise? The answer is yes!

A new video shows a German astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA), Matthias Maurer demonstrating how to use the mile tread up there.

In the video, Maurer can be seen fastening his seat belt and bungie to simulate the experience of jogging like on Earth.

The treadmill itself, called T2, is attached to the wall at Node 3, also known as Tranquility, which is one of the modules on the ISS.

Maurer is seen hovering before grabbing the handles to stabilize himself and get the correct orientation. Here, Maruer is wearing a short-sleeved tracksuit and shorts just like on Earth. Uniquely before starting, Maurer first ran on the wall and then started.

"This clip is just a snapshot of Matthias' training in space. A typical T2 session lasts about 30 to 40 minutes," said ESA, as quoted by the Daily Mail, Tuesday, January 25.

Astronauts who live and work on the ISS often exercise for about two hours a day, six days a week, to stay fit and healthy in orbit.

Exercise can help fight muscle and bone loss caused by microgravity life, which could lead to long-term health conditions for space explorers when they return to Earth.

In space, the effect of a lack of gravity on the human body is a major obstacle facing future space exploration missions, including a planned manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, which could take three years of astronauts' life on the planet.

On November 11, NASA launched Crew 3, the third operational crew NASA and SpaceX have flown to the ISS. The crew consisted of Maurer along with NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron.

Maurer and his co-inhabitants will return to Earth in April this year, after six months on the space station. While in orbit, Maurer will support more than 35 European experiments and even more international experiments on board.