Leon Deutsch from the Medical University Vienna, together with Prof. Dr. Nandu Goswami from the Medical University of Graz, teamed up with the Austrian Space Forum to study the human body locomotion under (simulated) reducted gravity at the Vertical Treadmill, an ESA ground based facility hosted by the OeWF. This is a peak into his fascinating research!

As human exploration expands beyond Earth, understanding the physiological limits of the human body during exercise in reduced-gravity environments becomes increasingly important. This was one of the key motivations behind a study conducted over the past year at the ESA Vertical Treadmill Facility in Innsbruck. Hosted by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) CORA Program, this study was titled “Evaluation of Ventilatory Thresholds during Exercise in Simulated Hypogravity with and without a Space Suit.”

Although the title may sound complex, the goal of the study was quite simple: to investigate how the human body responds to exercise in simulated hypogravity, specifically on the Moon and Mars, in comparison to Earth, and to identify the additional challenges that arise when wearing a space suit.

To address these questions, twelve participants were recruited and spent some summer evenings visiting the OeWF SuitLab in Innsbruck, experiencing what it feels like to run under lunar or Martian gravity conditions. In total, each participant completed six sessions on the Vertical Treadmill. In half of these sessions, they wore the same exoskeleton used in the OeWF’s Aouda space suit, designed to simulate the additional load and movement restrictions of a real space suit.

During the running tests, the research team closely monitored a range of physiological and biomechanical parameters. These included respiratory measures, such as how much oxygen the participants needed to maintain their performance, as well as biomechanical factors like step frequency. In short, the goal was to understand not just how fast people could run, but how hard their bodies had to work to do so.

By the end of the test series, the participants had spent a combined total of more than 22 hours running under various gravity conditions. Analyzing this large volume of data was another big task that required considerable time. However, the efforts invested by both our dedicated participants as well as our tireless research team have certainly paid off, as the research team was just recently invited to present their findings directly to the European Space Agency.

Each participant played a crucial role in improving our understanding of human physiology in space and advancing knowledge in the field of space medicine, one step at a time. Collectively, the results not only enhance our understanding of the physical limits we can expect in hypogravity environments but also provide important insights into how wearing a space suit affects exercise intensity. These insights are not only scientifically fascinating; they are directly relevant for designing future astronaut training programs and planning long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

About the Vertical Treadmill
ESA Cora Program

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