New Delhi:Humans walked on the Moon more than 50 years ago. In space exploration, there have been many achievements. NASA plans to send humans again to the Moon via the Artemis Mission.
Therefore, spacesuits are being designed to be more advanced and provide more favorable conditions for astronauts while on spacewalks.
Texas A&M University scientists are developing a new spacesuit architecture called SmartSuit. The scientists believe that SmartSuit will create a safer spacesuit environment for Extravehicular Activity on planetary surfaces.
Their research was recently published in the journal.npj Aerospace Medicine, Microgravity and Human Performance.
What is SmartSuit?
According to the study, SmartSuit is a spacesuit design that focuses on three key improvements to current suits: increased mobility, safety, and informed interaction between astronauts and the environment.
Ana Diaz Artiles is one of the study’s authors. Robert Shephard from Cornell University was an associate professor who collaborated with Texas A&M researchers in developing prototypes of soft-robotics assistive actuators for the knee joints. An actuator is a device that converts energy and signals into motion. The motion can either be linear or rotary.
What are the Current Spacesuits Design?
Texas A&M University released a statement stating that the current spacesuit was designed for microgravity conditions. She explained that astronauts in microgravity conditions do not need to use their lower bodies to move about, but instead can translate using their upper bodies.
Diaz Artiles said that astronauts on planetary surfaces need to be able to bend, kneel, pick-up rocks, and perform other similar activities that require a better mobility of the lower body.
How do Soft-Robotic Knee Prototypes Works?
The study revealed that soft-robotic knee prototypes work using gas pressure to expand their internal chambers so they can push against each other.
The actuator bends when each internal chamber expands. The actuator can be shaped to fit the human body by using a soft material. This allows for a more comfortable fit, which can reduce the chance of injury.
Logan Kluis, who was the principal author of the study, stated that soft robotics would allow actuators to conform to astronauts’ bodies. This would significantly increase their comfort as compared with rigid, hard surface actuators.
Robotic Actuators Lower Metabolic Costs
The current spacesuit makes astronauts feel like they are in a balloon. They have to fight the suit which is not only difficult but also requires them to use energy that they will want to conserve for EVA missions. According to the study, the metabolic cost is directly related to how much energy they expend on moving against the suit. Simulations specifically designed to examine the effects of assistive robot actuators show that they can reduce the metabolic costs by 15%.
Kluis stated that astronauts expend a lot of energy when they are out collecting samples or doing tests. He stated that astronauts who are sent to Mars and the Moon will either need to bring all their food or grow it. He said that any energy savings will be extremely helpful.
What will a Full-Body Layer do for Astronauts?
Recent work by the scientists focused on actuators to support knee joints. Their ultimate goal is to integrate actuators in a full-body layer. According to the study this will increase motion in several body joints.
The astronaut’s full-body layer would press against him/her, providing additional mechanical counterpressure (MCP), increasing mobility.
NASA and the United States Air Force created a mechanical counterpressure (MCP), suit that applied constant pressure to the skin through skintight elastic clothing in the late 1950s. The designs were never used, although it was re-developed in the late 1960s.
Diaz Artiles stated that pressure and mobility have an inverted relationship. The lower one’s mobility is the more pressure one has in a spacesuit. It is easier to move around if there is less pressure on an astronaut.
In the study, the authors pointed out that the pressure refers the gas pressure that the spacesuit provides to protect its wearer. The atmospheric pressure is 14.7 pounds/square inch. The current spacesuit has a pressure of 4.3 pounds/square inch. This pulses against astronaut’s bodies and contributes the balloon effect. A full-body soft-robotic layer that could provide 1 pound per square in would reduce the suit’s cost to 3.3 pounds per sq inch. This means that there will be less pressure and more mobility.
Kluis stated that if one wears tight underarmour, or really tight leggings he or she feels more pressure. SmartSuits are designed to use both mechanical pressure as well as gas pressure.
What is Decompression Sickness?
Decompression sickness (DCS) can be reduced by mechanical counterpressure. This refers to injuries that are caused by a rapid drop in pressure around a person. It can also occur in unpressurized air travel. Inert gas bubbles can form in the human tissue when an astronaut enters a spacesuit at a lower pressure. NASA recommends that astronauts take precautions to avoid getting decompression sickness while on spacewalks.
According to the study, decompression illness can occur when the gas pressure around a person drops relatively quickly. This causes the nitrogen in the body to bubble up inside the body tissues.
To avoid decompression sickness in the spacesuit, you can breathe pure oxygen for up four hours before performing an EVA. The use of mechanical counterpressure allows astronauts to spend less time on pre-breathe needs and more time exploring space. They will also not have to worry if they get decompression sickness.
According to the statement, researchers are still working on the SpaceSuit design. The prototype actuators will be used to create a more flexible and resourceful spacesuit for future planetary missions.
The main objective of the researchers was to create a spacesuit that astronauts can feel like they are moving in space without wearing a spacesuit.