The physical and mental stress that analog astronauts experience during a mission can be enormous. Outside temperatures around 30°C, the weight of the Aouda space suit simulator with about 50 kg and the additional stress caused by the exoskeletons to simulate Mars-like conditions can be very exhausting and tiring during the EVA’s, which sometimes last several hours. In order to be able to better estimate the stresses in advance, Benjamin Reimeir is developing fatigue simulations individually adapted to the individual analog astronauts as part of his PhD studies.

The aim of the first measurements in this project is to analyze the effects of muscular fatigue on the accuracy during the execution of strenuous or coordinatively demanding movements. To do this, the subjects’ movements will be precisely recorded using a motion capture system. An exercise protocol with additional loads will be used to generate the desired fatigue to then investigate the effect on movement patterns and work performance/error frequency.
In the long run, this model shall be extended to all relevant activities that analog astronauts have to perform during the missions.    

Benjamin Reimeir is performing the measurements in the Biomechanics Laboratory of the Institute of Sport Sciences at the University of Innsbruck. If you are interested in his research and would like to participate in measurements as a test subject, please feel free to contact Benjamin for more information at .

The next steps in the project also include a further development of the exoskeletons to be able to live record the generated loads. In addition, there are already first ideas in the direction of smart textiles to make the underwear of the analog astronauts “smarter”.

Author: Benjamin Reimeir

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