Effects of weightlessness on body composition in the rat

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Abstract
Five male rats were exposed to 18.5 days of weightlessness in the Soviet mission COSMOS 1129 (flight group) and killed after reentry. They were immediately dissected into 3 major body subdivsions: musculoskeletal system, skin, and pooled viscera analyzed for fat, water, solids and 6 elements. These results, expressed as percentages of the fat-free body or its components, were compared with 2 groups of terrestrial controls: 1 subjected to a flight simulation in a spacecraft mock-up and the other under standard vivarium conditions. Relative to the control groups the flight group showed a reduced fraction of total body water, a net shift of body water from skin to viscera, a marked diminution in fraction of extracellular water in the fat-free body, a marked reduction in fraction of bone mineral, no change in the quantity of stored fat or adrenal masses and a net increase in total muscle mass as indicated by total body creatine, protein and body cell mass.

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