NTE-SENER, a company based in Catalonia (Spain) and belonging to SENER Grupo de Ingeniería, is the main contractor for the Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES), a European Space Agency (ESA) facility for research into the effects caused by zero gravity on human muscles. This project is also part of the NASA Human Research Facility (HRF) research centre.

MARES was launched aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle last April 5 from NASA's Kennedy space centre in Cape Canaveral (Florida), to be installed in the European Columbus module in the International Space Station (ISS).

Prolonged exposure of the human body to zero-gravity environments provokes atrophy of muscular mass with loss of muscle strength and osteoporosis through the loss of calcium in the bones. At the moment, astronauts that spend long periods in space do a set of exercises to offset these effects. For example, the temporary inhabitants of the International Space Station (ISS) do muscle exercises for two hours every day.

The ESA has developed the MARES system, designed to carry out studies in muscular, neuromuscular and neurological physiology, in order investigate and offset the effects of the absence of gravity on human muscles. The system makes it possible to investigate induced atrophy in muscle groups, both of the individual joints of the trunk and limbs and of whole limbs. For this purpose it applies a stimulus with programmable speed or torque/force to eleven muscle groups of the human body in order to subsequently measure the subject's torque/force and speed response. On the basis of the results obtained, MARES will render it possible to establish effective exercise protocols: the astronauts themselves can monitor the efficacy of the gym routines they do while in orbit.

The results of the experimentation with MARES will provide new data on the mechanisms of atrophy, and greater knowledge of the neuromuscular system. Therefore they are expected to prove useful in other areas such as medical and sports rehabilitation, where patients with muscular atrophy produced by paralysis, trauma or prolonged immobilisation are treated.

The NTE-SENER company has been in charge of the project management, the global design of the system, all the control, power and supervision electronics and all the mechanical and structural parts, as well as the software. The Etel and ABSL companies and the Centro de Alto Rendimiento [High-Performance Centre] (CAR) of Sant Cugat del Vallés participated as subcontractors in this project with NTE-SENER.