A researcher at the University of Bristol has developed a new spacesuit to help the mobility of astronauts.
Dr Emanuele Pulvirenti, a researcher at the university, has come up with a new way for astronaut’s to maintain muscle health in space through a new ‘exosuit’.
The new ‘exosuit’ was designed to be worn beneath the main spacesuit for astronauts. Fabric ‘muscles’ make up the suit and help astronaut’s move in low gravity spaces.
The suit will consist of two layers, an outer nylon and an inner mouldable thermoplastic. It will aid astronauts to “expend less energy”, making space missions easier.
The suit is deisgned to help astronauts with muscle fatigue, opening up a whole new range of possibilities for these missions on the Moon and Mars. Dr Pulvirenti told the BBC that: “it [the suit] could eventually help people on Earth who suffer with mobility issues.”
Dr Pulvirenti’s grandmother helped him make the suit’s first prototype. Pulvirenti told the BBC that: “She worked as a tailor and she was able to give me some advice.”
The suit was tested in Australia in a simulated space mission, but he believes the technology has not reached its full potential. He says the team will continue developing, hoping to test it at the International Space Station. Their next goal, he told the BBC: “is to create a hybrid suit that can switch between assistance and resistance modes as needed.”
Dr Pulvirenti believes the suit could eventually could support physical rehabilitation for those recovering from injuries or with chronic mobility issues. People would wear them like a pair of trousers, but the “artificial muscles” would “deliver extra force” to improve mobility.
The suit therefore will become more than just a way to help space expeditions, hoping to one day supply these suits with the NHS for those who need it.
