Human Spacesuit Interaction – MIT and APDM go to Space
Have you ever wondered what it is like to wear a spacesuit? MIT is using APDM technology to find out.
In a recent human spacesuit interaction experiment, MIT researchers investigated the interaction between astronauts and their spacesuits.
These researchers were part of the Man Vehicle Laboratory (MVL), a research group within the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Founded in 1962, MVL’s goal is to better define the physiological and cognitive limitations of pilots and passengers of aircraft and spacecraft, and to optimize overall human-vehicle system effectiveness and safety.
Currently, all flown spacesuits are gas pressurized, causing astronauts to exert substantial energy in order to move into a desired position. Pressurization provides astronauts the oxygen they need for breathing, as well as internal body fluid protection. However, this leaves the astronauts with limited mobility, discomfort, and a variety of injuries as a result. Over the years of space travel, countermeasures have been implemented for comfort and usability, but there is still very little known about movement in spacesuits.
The purpose of the MIT experiment was this – to gain a greater understanding of this human-spacesuit interaction and potential for injury by analyzing the suit-induced pressures against the body along with joint kinematics of how astronauts move inside the space suit. Until this experiment, the differences between how an astronaut moves compared to their spacesuit have not yet been quantified.
Pierre Bertrand, a graduate student within the MVL, proposed using APDM Opal technology to characterize human movement within two spacesuits. Bertrand placed three Opals on the subject at the lower arm, upper arm, and torso. He then placed three corresponding Opals outside the spacesuit in order to measure joint angulation. The subjects were instructed to perform a series of 5 upper body movements – elbow flexion and extension, shoulder flexion and extension, shoulder abduction and adduction, a cross-body reach, and a hammering task.
Throughout this experiment, Bertrand took full advantage APDM technology, saying the “system is a very user friendly technology and software to use. Using it through my research really helped to have practical results to quickly analyze. It also allows a large range of different settings and configuration that has been useful for the testing in the complex environment of a spacesuit. APDM engineers have also always been here to answer my questions.”
The experiment concluded with valuable knowledge and information about how motions occur within a spacesuit, as well as how injuries, discomfort, and fatigue can arise. Additionally, these results provided future studies with an initial human-spacesuit baseline as a guide for further exploration, as well as insight for future spacesuit design.
This research has been awarded the 2nd place student poster at the NASA Human Research Program Symposium, and the 3rd place poster at the International Conference of Environmental Systems.
Future experiments based off this research involve a self-rotation experiment in microgravity during parabolic flights. In the study, researchers aim to find the best self-rotation and movement techniques using only the limbs, without the use of external contact. Results from this study will greatly influence astronaut training, as well as sports involving significant in-air rotation such as diving or snowboarding. This research will show great value to the fields of biomechanics, athletics, and microgravity research.
