BBC_Knowledge_2014-06_Asia_100p

HELEN CAHILL is a molecular biologist

PHOTO: KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY and a writer for Varsity

ABOVE: The medical space suit carries

a raft of sensors, some of which can be

seen being tested. Electrical sensors

monitor muscle activity; accelerometers

measure movement; sensors on the

forehead, wrist or finger check oxygen

levels in the blood and heart rate; and

respiration belts worn on the chest

measure breathing rate.

RIGHT: A new energy-harvesting

method (being tested here) uses the

astronaut’s body heat and cooling

garment to power the space suit’s

electronics.

The health of our space-

explorers is paramount if they’re

to make the 225 million kilometre

(average distance) journey to

Mars and step onto its rust-red

surface intact. To keep them fit, a

team at Kansas State University

is developing smarter spacesuits

• ones that can perform regular
  check-ups; a kind of wearable
  space doctor.
  To do this, they’re fitting
  sensors into spacesuits
  (pictured). The idea is that by
  monitoring their vital data, the
  astronauts can discern if they
  have the strength to perform a
  particular mission. This is

DOCTOR SUIT important because our bodies

alter in space, and workers need

to know how so they can do their

jobs. They lose muscle mass and

bone density, and visual acuity

can deteriorate, possibly due to

swelling of the optic nerve. The

team is also creating a wireless

network so the data-collecting

gadgets can communicate with

each other and a space station.

Using batteries to power these

electronics in an oxygen-rich

spacesuit would be dangerous,

though. Instead, scientists want

to use astronauts’ body heat to

provide energy. In space, people

can’t be cooled by air – through

either convection or evaporation

of sweat. So they wear a cooling

garment, which consists of a

layer that absorbs heat with

fluid-filled pipes and a heat

exchanger for removing energy

from the circulated fluid. The

researchers’ cunning technology

generates power using the

temperature difference between

this item of underclothing and

the astronaut’s body.

SPACE EXPLORATION