Download or read book Understanding Human space Suit Interaction to Prevent Injury During Extravehicular Activity written by Allison Paige Anderson and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is a critical component of human spaceflight. Working in gas-pressurized space suits, however, causes fatigue, unnecessary energy expenditure, and injury. The problem of injury is particularly acute and is exacerbated with the additional hours astronauts spend training inside the suit, especially underwater in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). Although space suit performance and improved system designs have been investigated, relatively little is known about how the astronaut moves and interacts with the space suit, what factors lead to injury, and how to prevent injury. At the outset of this research effort there were no technologies suitable to evaluate human movement and contact within the space suit during dynamic movements. The objective of this thesis is to help understand human-space suit interaction and design hardware to assess and ultimately mitigate injury. This is accomplished through two specific aims. The first specific aim is to use data mining techniques to uncover trends in space suit configuration, training environment, and anthropometry, which may lead to injury. Two groups of subjects were analyzed: those whose reported shoulder injury incidence is specifically attributable to the NBL or working in the space suit, and those whose shoulder problems began in active duty, meaning working in the suit could have been a contributing factor. The first statistical model correctly identifies 39% of injured subjects, while the second model correctly identifies 68% of injured subjects. For both models, percent of training incidence in the space suit planar hard upper torso (HUT) was the most important predictor variable. Frequency of training and recovery between training were also identified as significant metrics. These variables can be monitored and modified operationally to reduce the impacts on the astronaut's health. Several anthropometric dimensions were also found to have explanatory power for injury. Expanded chest depth was included in both models, while bi-deltoid breadth was relevant for identifying injured NBL subjects and shoulder circumference was relevant for identifying injured Active subjects. These dimensions may be targeted as particularly important to accommodate in future designs of the HUT or any advanced concept space suits. Finally, for the NBL subjects, previous record of injury was found to be an important factor. Further descriptive analysis implies that analyzing the HUT style and size together may be critical for future detailed studies on fit and accommodation. These results quantitatively elucidate the underlying mechanisms of shoulder injuries for astronauts working inside the space suit. The second specific aim is to develop a wearable pressure sensing capability to quantitatively measure areas on the body's surface that the space suit impacts during normal EVA movement. A low-pressure sensing system was designed and constructed for the upper body during dynamic movements inside the space suit environment. Sensors were designed to measure between 5-60 kPa with approximately 1 kPa resolution. The sensors are constructed from hyper-elastic silicone imbedded with a microfluidic channel. The channel is filled with liquid conductive metal, galinstan, such that an applied pressure corresponds to a change in resistance of the liquid metal. The system of 12 pressure sensors accommodates anthropometry from a 50th percentile female to a 95th percentile male upper body dimensions with near shirt-sleeve mobility. The wiring was intentionally designed to achieve the best trade between flexibility, resistance, and stretch ability, but ultimately was the greatest limitation in system durability. The electronics architecture utilizes onboard data storage with more than 4 hours of use. The entire system was designed with extreme environments in mind, where considerations of shock, battery hazards, and material properties in mixed gas, pressurized atmosphere were minimized to ensure user safety. The pressure sensing system was used in a human subject experiment to characterize human-suit interaction. Three experienced subjects were asked to perform a series of 3 isolated joint movements and 2 functional tasks, all focused on upper body movement. Movements were repeated 12 times each and pressure responses were evaluated both by quantifying peak pressure and full profile responses. Comparing subjective feedback to the quantitative pressure data allows a sense of the variability of movement and minor changes in loading on the body while performing suited motions. Users generally felt they were consistent for all movements. However, using a nonparametric H-test, 53% of movements were found to be biomechanically inconsistent (p

Download or read book Human spacesuit Interaction written by Alexandra Marie Hilbert and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extravehicular activities (EVA), or space walks, are a critical and complex aspect of human spaceflight missions. To prepare for safe and successful execution of the required tasks, astronauts undergo extensive training in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL), which involves many hours of performing repetitive motions at various orientations, all while wearing a pressurized spacesuit. The current U.S. spacesuit-the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)-is pressurized to 29.6 kPa (4.3 psi) and requires astronauts to exert a substantial amount of energy in order to move the suit into a desired position. The pressurization of the suit therefore limits human mobility, causes discomfort, and leads to a variety of contact and strain injuries. Shoulder injuries are one of the most severe injuries that astronauts contend with, and are mainly attributed to the EMU's hard upper torso (HUT). While suit-related injuries have been observed for many years and some basic countermeasures have been implemented, there is still a lack of understanding of how humans move inside the spacesuit. The objective of this research is therefore to gain a greater understanding of this human-spacesuit interaction and potential for shoulder injury through two approaches: quantifying and analyzing the suit-induced pressures that arise in the shoulder region, and comparing the shoulder muscle forces that arise in the unsuited and suited conditions by modeling human-spacesuit interaction. The first approach provides an "inside look" of the pressure distributions and pressure profiles that arise at the interface between the human shoulder and the torso of the spacesuit, thereby suggesting which areas of the shoulder might be prone to contact injury. A commercially produced pressure sensing system is used to collect shoulder pressure data during a human subject experiment that involves three experienced subjects performing a series of upper body motions in both unsuited and suited conditions. Pressure distributions reveal that: 1) the least experienced subject generates the highest pressures, 2) for the majority of movements for all subjects, pressure is concentrated just above the clavicle over the soft musculature at the top of the shoulder, 3) the top of the shoulder is one of the regions in which maximum pressure is located most frequently, and 4) the shoulder blade is a secondary region of concern with regards to frequency of experiencing maximum pressure. Pressure profile analysis reveals that 1) for most subjects, general profile trends vary in shape across movement groups, 2) repetitions within each movement group are consistent in shape, and for most subjects also in magnitude, 3) the highest pressures are typically found near the top of the shoulder, and 4) the shoulder blade area is of concern for at least one subject. As these results are primarily observational in nature, a statistical analysis is performed to assess the effects of motion type and anthropometric region on peak pressure magnitudes. This analysis shows that results cannot be generalized across subjects as they are likely affected by individual anthropometry, suit fit, and the biomechanics of how each subject performs the motion. However, a number of interesting trends regarding which motions or regions yield higher pressures are found for each of the individual subjects. The results are specific to the subjects, suit sizes, and experimental conditions used in this particular experiment; however, the application of these quantitative and repeatable techniques during future experiments, suit fit sessions, or NBL runs would lead to a more complete understanding of human-spacesuit interaction at the shoulder interface. The second approach analyzes the effects of spacesuits on muscle forces in the shoulder region. Data regarding spacesuit joint torques and the joint angles of a suited subject are integrated into an upper-extremity musculoskeletal model in OpenSim to evaluate which muscles are most affected by the spacesuit. Looking specifically at a shoulder abduction/adduction motion, shoulder abductors, adductors, and stabilizer muscle groups are evaluated for significant changes in force from the unsuited to suited condition, and individual muscles within the shoulder region are also evaluated for significant changes from the unsuited to suited conditions. From a statistical analysis of the musculoskeletal simulation results, it is found that of the three investigated muscle groups-shoulder abductors, adductors, and stabilizers-only the abductors experience a statistically significant change in total muscle force between the unsuited and suited conditions. Looking specifically at the individual muscles that constitute the abductors and stabilizers, we find that only the middle deltoid experienced a statistically significant change in force from the unsuited to suited condition. A number of explanations are provided for the observed force profiles and the statistical results. The presented results are specific to the subject's motion data, suit torque data, and the musculoskeletal model that are used; however expanding this analysis to more subjects, other body joints, and a more complex musculoskeletal model would provide useful results for industry experts. Valuable information could be provided to EVA operations teams, flight doctors, and spacesuit designers regarding which movements or tasks should be avoided or performed minimally to prevent injury. The resulting muscle forces could also be used to set limits on the joint torques that are engineered in future spacesuits. Each of the approaches implemented in this thesis provides a different avenue for addressing the issue of shoulder injury in the spacesuit. While the pressure analysis contributes to the understanding of human-spacesuit interaction by informing on the anthropometric regions that might be most susceptible to contact injury, the musculoskeletal analysis provides insight as to which individual muscles are most susceptible to strain injury. Both of these quantitative, evidence-based approaches contribute to an increased understanding of the potential for shoulder injury in the spacesuit.

Download or read book Extravehicular Mobility Unit Training Suit Symptom Study Report written by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to characterize the symptoms and injuries experienced by NASA astronauts during extravehicular activity (space walk) spacesuit training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas. We identified the frequency and incidence rates of symptoms by each general body location and characterized mechanisms of injury and effective countermeasures. Based on these findings a comprehensive list of recommendations was made to improve training, test preparation, and current spacesuit components, and to design the next -generation spacesuit. At completion of each test event a comprehensive questionnaire was produced that documented suit symptom comments, identified mechanisms of injury, and recommended countermeasures. As we completed our study we found that most extravehicular mobility unit suit symptoms were mild, self-limited, and controlled by available countermeasures. Some symptoms represented the potential for significant injury with short- and long-term consequences regarding astronaut health and interference with mission objectives. The location of symptoms and injuries that were most clinically significant was in the hands, shoulders, and feet. Correction of suit symptoms issues will require a multidisciplinary approach to improve prevention, early medical intervention, astronaut training, test planning, and suit engineering.Strauss, SamuelJohnson Space CenterEXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY; SPACE SUITS; SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS; EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNITS; INJURIES; ASTRONAUT TRAINING; COUNTERMEASURES; EDUCATION; PREVENTION

Download or read book Astronaut Extravehicular Activity written by Roedolph Adriaan Opperman and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) spacesuits are a key enabling technology which allow astronauts to survive and work in the harsh environment of space. Of the entire spacesuit, the gloves may perhaps be considered the most difficult engineering design issue. A significant number of astronauts sustain hand and shoulder injuries during extravehicular activity (EVA) training and operations. In extreme cases these injuries lead to fingernail delamination (onycholysis) or rotator cuff tears and require medical or surgical intervention. In an effort to better understand the causal mechanisms of injury, a study consisting of modeling, statistical and experimental analyses was performed in section I of this thesis. A cursory musculoskeletal modeling tool was developed for use in comparing various spacesuit hard upper torso designs. The modeling effort focuses on optimizing comfort and range of motion of the shoulder joint within the suit. The statistical analysis investigated correlations between the anthropometrics of the hand and susceptibility to injury. A database of 192 male crewmembers' injury records and anthropometrics was sourced from NASA's Johnson Space Center. Hand circumference and width of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint were found to be significantly associated with injuries by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Experimental testing was conducted to characterize skin blood flow and contact pressure inside the glove. This was done as part of NASA's effort to evaluate a hypothesis that fingernail delamination is caused by decreasing blood flow in the finger tips due to compression of the skin inside the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) glove. The initial investigation consisted of a series of skin blood flow and contact pressure tests of the bare finger, and showed that blood flow decreased to approximately 60% of baseline value with increasing force, however, this occurred more rapidly for finger pads (4N) than for finger tips (ION). A gripping test of a pressure bulb using the bare hand was also performed at a moderate pressure of 13.33kPa (100mmHg) and at a high pressure of 26.66kPa (200mmHg), and showed that blood flow decreased 50% and 45%, respectively. Excessive hyperperfusion was observed for all tests following contact force or pressure, which may also contribute to the onset of delamination. Preliminary data from gripping tests inside the EMU glove in a hypobaric chamber at NASA's Johnson Space Center show that skin blood flow decreased by 45% and 40% when gripping at 3 moderate and high pressures, respectively. These tests show that finger skin blood flow is significantly altered by contact force/pressure, and that occlusion is more sensitive when it is applied to the finger pad than the finger tip. Our results indicate that the pressure on the finger pads required to articulate stiff gloves is more likely to impact blood flow than the pressure on the fingertips associated with tight or ill-fitting gloves. Improving the flexibility of the gloves will therefore not only benefit operational performance, but may also be an effective approach in reducing the incidence of finger injury. Space Policy Abstract EVA injury is only one of many dangers astronauts face in the extreme environment of space. Orbital debris presents a significant threat to astronaut safety and is a growing cause of concern. Since the dawn of satellites in the early 1950's, space debris from intentionally exploded spacecraft, dead satellites, and on-orbit collisions has significantly increased and currently outnumbers operational space hardware. Adding to this phenomenon, the advent of commercial spaceflight and the recent space activities in China and India to establish themselves as spacefairing nations are bound to accelerate the rate of space debris accumulating in low Earth orbit, thus, exacerbating the problem. The policies regulating orbital debris were drafted in the 1960s and 1970s and fail to effectively address the dynamic nature of the debris problem. These policies are not legally enforced under international law and implementation is entirely voluntary. Space debris is a relevant issue in international space cooperation. Unless regulated, some projections indicate space debris will reach a point of critical density, after which the debris will grow exponentially, as more fragments are generated by collisions than are removed by atmospheric drag. Space debris proliferation negatively impacts human spaceflight safety, presents a hazard to orbiting space assets, and may lead to portions of near-Earth orbit becoming inaccessible, thus limiting mission operations. The aim of this research effort was to review current international space policy, legislation and mitigation strategies in light of two recent orbital collision episodes. The first is the February 2009 collision between a defunct Russian Cosmos spacecraft and a commercial Iridium satellite. The second is China's display of technological prowess during the January 2007 intentional demolition of its inactive Fengyun-IC weather satellite using a SC-19 antisatellite (ASAT) missile. In each case the stakeholders, politics, policies, and consequences of the collision are analyzed. The results of this analysis as well as recommendations for alternative mitigation and regulatory strategies are presented.

Download or read book Evaluating Human EVA Suit Injury Using Wearable Sensors written by Sabrina Reyes (Ensign.) and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All the current flown spacesuits are gas pressurized and require astronauts to exert a substantial amount of energy in order to move the suit into a desired position. The pressurization of the suit therefore limits human mobility, causes discomfort, and leads to a variety of contact and strain injuries. While suit-related injuries have been observed for many years and some basic countermeasures have been implemented, there is still a lack of understanding of how humans move within the spacesuit. The rise of wearable technologies is changing the paradigm of biomechanics and allowing a continuous monitoring of motion performance in fields like athletics or medical rehabilitation. Similarly, pressure sensors allow a sensing capability to better locate the areas and magnitudes of contact between the human and their interface and reduce the risk of injuries. Coupled together these sensors allow a better understanding of the complex interactions between the astronaut and his suit, enhance astronauts performance through a real time monitoring and reducing the risk of injury. The first set of objectives of this research are: to gain a greater understanding of this human-spacesuit interaction and potential for injury by analyzing the suit-induced pressures against the body, to determine the validity of the particular sensors used with suggested alternatives, and to extend the wearable technology application to other relatable fields such as soldier armor and protective gear. An experiment was conducted in conjunction with David Clark Incorporated Company on the Launch Entry Development spacesuit analyzing the human-spacesuit system behavior for isolated and functional upper body movement tasks: elbow flexion/extension, shoulder flexion/extension, shoulder abduction/adduction and cross body reach, which is a complex succession of critical motions for astronaut and pilot task. The contact pressure between the person and the spacesuit was measured by three low-pressure sensors (the Polipo) over the arm, and one high-pressure sensor located on the shoulder (Novel). The same sensors were used in a separate experiment conducted in conjunction with Protect the Force Company on several different United States Marine Corps (USMC) protective gear configurations, which analyzed the human-gear interactions for: shoulder flexion/extension, horizontal shoulder abduction/adduction, vertical shoulder abduction/adduction, and the cross body reach. Findings suggest that as suit pressurization increases, contact pressure across the top of the shoulder increases for all motion types. While it proved to be a perfectly acceptable method for gathering shoulder data, improvements can be made on the particular sensors used and the type of data collected and analyzed. In the future, human-suit interface data can be utilized to influence future gas-pressurized spacesuit design. Additionally, this thesis briefly explores the incompatibilities between Russian and U.S. EVA capabilities in order to make a case for equipment standardization.

Download or read book Flexible Wearable and Stretchable Electronics written by Katsuyuki Sakuma and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-11-20 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Remarkable progress has been achieved within recent years in developing flexible, wearable, and stretchable (FWS) electronics. These electronics will play an increasingly significant role in the future of electronics and will open new product paradigms that conventional semiconductors are not capable of. This is because flexible electronics will allow us to build flexible circuits and devices on a substrate that can be bent, stretched, or folded without losing functionality. This revolutionary change will impact how we interact with the world around us. Future electronic devices will use flexible electronics as part of ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing for many different applications such as consumer electronics, medical, healthcare, and security devices. Thus, these devices have the potential to create a huge market all over the world. Flexible, Wearable, and Stretchable Electronics, provide a comprehensive technological review of the state-of-the-art developments in FWS electronics. This book offers the reader a taste of what is possible with FWS electronics and describes how these electronics can provide unique solutions for a wide variety of applications. Furthermore, the book introduces and explains new applications of flexible technology that has opened up the future of FWS electronics.

Download or read book Space Suit Simulator for Partial Gravity Extravehicular Activity Experimentation and Training written by Andrea Lynn Gilkey and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During human space exploration, mobility is extremely limited when working inside a pressurized space suit. Astronauts perform extensive training on Earth to become accustomed to space suit-imposed high joint torques and limited range of motion. Space suit experimentation is difficult for researchers because the current suit is expensive, bulky, heavy, hard to don/doff, and in very short supply. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a wearable space suit simulator (S3) exoskeleton that can mimic the joint torques and reduced mobility of various pressurized space suit designs. A space suit simulator exoskeleton is a novel method for simulating joint torques while offering a lightweight, portable, and easily accessible design. This thesis describes early work towards development of the S3 exoskeleton. A space suit joint database was developed, which includes joint torque and angle range of motion information for multiple pressurized space suits, degrees of freedom, and pressurization levels. The space suit joint database was used to set the joint torque and angle range of motion requirements for the S3 exoskeleton. Additionally, various actuators that have been used in previous exoskeleton designs were compared according to weight and bulk characteristics to select actuators for the S3 exoskeleton. The conceptual designs of the S3 knee and hip components are presented. Finally, the S3 computer simulation is described, which allows users to input the geometries and locations of the S3 exoskeleton components. The computer simulation outputs the space suit hysteresis curves to compare S3 joint design performance to actual space suit performance. Feasible design solutions for the S3 exoskeleton joints can be determined from designs that minimize the root-mean-square error of the hysteresis curves.

Download or read book Space Safety and Human Performance written by Barbara G. Kanki and published by Butterworth-Heinemann. This book was released on 2017-11-10 with total page 946 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Space Safety and Human Performance provides a comprehensive reference for engineers and technical managers within aerospace and high technology companies, space agencies, operators, and consulting firms. The book draws upon the expertise of the world’s leading experts in the field and focuses primarily on humans in spaceflight, but also covers operators of control centers on the ground and behavior aspects of complex organizations, thus addressing the entire spectrum of space actors. During spaceflight, human performance can be deeply affected by physical, psychological and psychosocial stressors. Strict selection, intensive training and adequate operational rules are used to fight performance degradation and prepare individuals and teams to effectively manage systems failures and challenging emergencies. The book is endorsed by the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS). 2019 PROSE Awards - Winner: Category: Engineering and Technology: Association of American Publishers Provides information on critical aspects of human performance in space missions Addresses the issue of human performance, from physical and psychosocial stressors that can degrade performance, to selection and training principles and techniques to enhance performance Brings together essential material on: cognition and human error; advanced analysis methods such as human reliability analysis; environmental challenges and human performance in space missions; critical human factors and man/machine interfaces in space systems design; crew selection and training; and organizational behavior and safety culture Includes an endorsement by the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS)

Download or read book Survey of Thermal Control Techniques for Extravehicular Space Suits written by Jack C. Hedge and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-08-02 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space was written in response to a request from NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA) to evaluate its Advanced Human Support Technology Program. This report reviews the four major areas of the program: advanced life support (ALS), environmental monitoring and control (EMC), extravehicular activities (EVA), and space human factors (SHF). The focus of this program is on long-term technology development applicable to future human long-duration space missions, such as for a hypothetical new mission to the Moon or Mars.

Download or read book Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-30 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human outposts, culminating in the current International Space Station (ISS). However, of the more than 500 humans who have so far ventured into space, most have gone only as far as near-Earth orbit, and none have traveled beyond the orbit of the Moon. Achieving humans' further progress into the solar system had proved far more difficult than imagined in the heady days of the Apollo missions, but the potential rewards remain substantial. During its more than 50-year history, NASA's success in human space exploration has depended on the agency's ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical science, and related obstacles-an achievement made possible by NASA's strong and productive commitments to life and physical sciences research for human space exploration, and by its use of human space exploration infrastructures for scientific discovery. The Committee for the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences acknowledges the many achievements of NASA, which are all the more remarkable given budgetary challenges and changing directions within the agency. In the past decade, however, a consequence of those challenges has been a life and physical sciences research program that was dramatically reduced in both scale and scope, with the result that the agency is poorly positioned to take full advantage of the scientific opportunities offered by the now fully equipped and staffed ISS laboratory, or to effectively pursue the scientific research needed to support the development of advanced human exploration capabilities. Although its review has left it deeply concerned about the current state of NASA's life and physical sciences research, the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space is nevertheless convinced that a focused science and engineering program can achieve successes that will bring the space community, the U.S. public, and policymakers to an understanding that we are ready for the next significant phase of human space exploration. The goal of this report is to lay out steps and develop a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight-thereby enabling the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good.

Download or read book Investigation of the Effects of Extravehicular Activity EVA Gloves on Performance written by Ram R. Bishu and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Enhancing Astronaut Mobility Through Spacesuit Kinematics and Interactive Space Outreach written by Pierre Jean Bertrand and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human spaceflight programs are facing new challenges rising from the evolution of the exploration agenda, as well as the changing international panel of actors. Planetary exploration missions will require intensive extravehicular activities (EVA). Simultaneously, the design of such missions will increasingly rely on cooperation between several types of actors: international and public/private. Adapting this paradigm shift requires astronauts, both symbols and key elements of human space exploration, to be fully equipped to explore and share their experiences. Consequently, astronaut mobility during the exploration mission, characterized by spacesuit kinematics, as well as astronaut mobility for space public outreach, characterized by the ability to inspire multiple types of people, are critical for the future of human spaceflight. This thesis focuses on these two elements of astronaut mobility: spacesuit motion and public inspiration for human spaceflight. All of the spacesuits currently in use are gas-pressurized and enable a wide range of astronaut performance. However, the pressurization causes an inherent stiffness, leading to astronauts' fatigue, unnecessary energy expenditure and limited mobility in the spacesuit. Better understanding of spacesuit kinematics is crucial to enable future human space exploration during extreme mobility tasks such as climbing, loping and excavating. Different methods are currently used to assess spacesuit mobility, but they are restricted to laboratory settings and do not measure the interactions between the suit and the person inside the suit. The first objective of this research is to develop a novel method to assess spacesuit kinematics and visualize human-spacesuit interactions. Upper body mobility of different suits was assessed by placing inertial measurement units (IMUs) on the person's body and on the outside of the spacesuit. IMUs incorporate accelerometers and gyroscopes to estimate relative rotation. They are mobile and low power, offering an economical and efficient kinematic tracking capability. A comparison of joint angle amplitude between different pressurization conditions and different motions was performed, and a 3D kinematic visualization tool was developed. While space-based technologies for Earth applications are flourishing, space exploration activities suffer from a lack of public awareness as well as decreasing budgets. Recent robotic exploration missions have positively influenced public perception by utilizing video and social media communication. How can these new communication technologies be used to better serve human spaceflight? How can space agencies and astronauts inspire tax-paying citizens, and thus politicians, to commit to an ambitious, global human spaceflight program based on international collaboration? The second part of the research analyzes how astronauts' use of interactive platforms can increase international public interest in human space exploration. An analysis of the Twitter network related to human spaceflight was performed, measuring how influence and relationships are linked, to better capture the best practices.

Download or read book A Study on Extravehicular Activity Space Suit Technologies and Design Criteria written by A. G. Tweedale and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Research to Advance Extravehicular Protective Technology written by David L. Richardson and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present state-of-the-art in extravehicular protective garments and possible new approaches and ideas suitable for development have been investigated. Recommendations are made for exploratory development programs which can achieve major advancements in extravehicular protective technology in the time period 10 to 15 years hence. The study includes a brief look at the possible missions and tasks, a definition of the problems of protecting man in earth-orbital space, an analysis of the bending torques of joints in present space suit constructions, a discussion of total encapsulation and remote handling techniques and a discussion of proposed advanced concepts, some of which may contribute to advancement of EV protective technology. The next generation of EV protective garments, for activity on or near the surface of a space station in a 300 n.m. earth orbit, will probably be anthropomorphic and consist of (1) hard-suit construction for the torso and the shoulder, waist and elbow joints, (2) soft-suit construction below the waist, (3) portable life support components which are integrated into the hard shell, (4) life support components which can be replenished while the astronaut is outside of the space station, (5) a liquid-cooled undergarment for removal of excess metabolic heat, and (6) an emergency sealing and pressurization system which is automatically actuated in the event of garment failure. (Author).

Download or read book NASA Strategic Plan written by United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Engineering a Robotic Exoskeleton for Space Suit Simulation written by Forrest Edward Meyen and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Novel methods for assessing space suit designs and human performance capabilities are needed as NASA prepares for manned missions beyond low Earth orbit. Current human performance tests and training are conducted in space suits that are heavy and expensive, characteristics that constrain possible testing environments and reduce suit availability to researchers. Space suit mock-ups used in planetary exploration simulations are light and relatively inexpensive but do not accurately simulate the joint stiffness inherent to space suits, a key factor impacting extravehicular activity performance. The MIT Man-Vehicle Laboratory and Aurora Flight Sciences designed and built an actively controlled exoskeleton for space suit simulation called the Extravehicular Activity Space Suit Simulator (EVA S3), which can be programmed to simulate the joint torques recorded from various space suits. The goal of this research is to create a simulator that is lighter and cheaper than a traditional space suit so that it can be used in a variety of testing and training environments. The EVA S3 employs pneumatic actuators to vary joint stiffness and a pre-programmed controller to allow the experimenter to apply torque profiles to mimic various space suit designs in the field. The focus of this thesis is the design, construction, integration, and testing of the hip joint and backpack for the EVA S3. The final designs of the other joints are also described. Results from robotic testing to validate the mechanical design and control system are discussed along with the planned improvements for the next iteration of the EVA S3. The fianl EVA S3 consists of a metal and composite exoskeleton frame with pneumatic actuators that control the resistance of motion in the ankle, knee, and hip joints, and an upper body brace that resists shoulder and elbow motions with passive spring elements. The EVA S3 is lighter (26 kg excluding the tethered components) and less expensive (under $600,000 including research, design, and personnel) than a modem space suit. Design adjustments and control system improvements are still needed to achieve a desired space suit torque simulation fidelity within 10% root-mean-square error.