Since two weeks our 2nd and 3rd intern this summer are working with us. We are happy to welcome Drew & Ragnar in our team :-)

Ragnar Kristjánsson (left) and Drew Masters (right)

Name: Drew Masters & Ragnar Kristjánsson

University: King’s College London, United Kingdom

Studying: Master of Science in Space Physiology & Health

How did you get involved with OeWF?
We were introduced to the OeWF during a class trip to the European Space Agency’s Astronaut Center in Cologne. We received an overview of OeWF projects and a demonstration of the Aouda.X space suit and simulation operations.

What will you be working on?
We will be working on developing a functional caution and warning system (CWS) for the Aouda space suit simulator. An EVA is one of the most crucial parts of any mission and can pose an extreme threat to astronaut health. Therefore, it is essential to be able to monitor in real-time the status of any astronaut, allowing for both the anticipation of and prompt responses to adverse events. Aouda requires the ability to operate independently to detect, alarm in response to, and actively mitigate potential adverse events that may occur during planetary exploration. These functionalities greatly increase the level of safety and optimize efficiency during EVAs, as well as reducing the cognitive workload of all crew members. A well-designed CWS provides necessary situational awareness and guides analog astronauts and flight controllers during nominal and off-nominal events by means of established standard operating procedures.

Drew Masters (left) & Ragnar Kristjánsson (right)

After identifying relevant physiological and engineering data to serve as inputs into the CWS, thresholds and states must be determined to characterize status conditions. The deliverable of the project will be algorithms that determine decision-making workflows and guidelines for suit operations in the case of both nominal and off-nominal situations. Once this framework exists, the CWS can be continually expanded to account for further parameters, both physiological and environmental. Algorithms are planned to be developed and integrated into the CWS in early August 2016 with algorithm functionality testing included in the 2016/2017 Aouda Test-Campaign.

Highlight of living in Innsbruck:
The view of the mountains is spectacular and there is easy access to outdoor activities such as hiking, rafting, and rock climbing.

Aouda safety meeting. From left: Drew Masters, Michael Klicker (OeWF Safety Officer), Ragnar Kristjánsson, Gernot Grömer

Link tip:
Find more photos from the Safety Meeting on our Flickr photostream