Österreichisches Weltraum Forum Austrian Space Forum
ESA Vertical Treadmill Facility
Austria’s first human spaceflight ESA Ground Based Facility
The Vertical Treadmill is an European Space Agency Ground Based Facility operated by the Austrian Space Forum in Innsbruck, Austria.
A test subject is held in horizontal suspension by a pulley system and pulled onto a vertical treadmill by a belt with variable contact pressure to simulate different levels of gravity. This technolgy helps to understand how humans would move on places like the Moon or Mars.
This research facility is open for both research on hypo-gravity movement patterns on other planetary surfaces as well as education and training purposes.
Vertical Treadmill – how does it work?
One of the major problems of human long-duration spaceflight is the physical de-conditioning of the body, mostly observed as a loss of bone and muscle mass. Other physiological modifications and changes in the movement patterns, such as gait, are related to the gravity levels on eg the Moon, Mars or Asteroids.
Therefore the Subject Loading System reproduces the conditions of exercise and movement of zero-gravity and partial-gravity that can be obtained onboard the International Space Station (ISS) or planetary surfaces to study the physiology and adapt the exercise programs. The ESA Vertical Treadmill Facility (VTF) is a facility that provides a locomotion surface (treadmill) that is placed vertically. When used on ground, in the Earth gravitational field, the subject needs to be suspended during a walking or running exercise on a VTF. The suspension force compensates the gravitational weight of the body segments which is parallel to the locomotion surface rather than perpendicular to the locomotion surface as during locomotion on a horizontal surface. A subject loading system can also be included to partially or completely replace the gravitational force on the body. The simulated gravity is thus applied perpendicularly to the locomotion surface.
These essential functions of any Vertical Treadmill are provided by three main components:
- A treadmill: provides a locomotion surface mounted vertically in a chassis.
- A suspension system: provides a suspension force via the suspension harness to suppress the effect of Earth’s gravity and is mounted to a ground supported chassis.
- A subject loading system: provides a pull-down force simulating the gravitational attraction of the body towards the locomotion surface.
FACTBOX Vertical Treadmill
- Treadmill speed: 0-20 km/h
- Maximum load capacity of test subject: 110 kg
- Load capacity: 0-1 g
- Rated for parabolic flight campaigns
- VTF Total mass: 703 kg (of which, 450 kg are the treadmill rack)
Motion Capturing (Optional)
Previous studies conducted with the vertical treadmill had a strong emphasis on physiological processes influenced by locomotion in reduced artificial gravity. Furthermore, sensitive movement analysis methods allow for closer insights into motor control properties associated with highly automated movement patterns under normal gravitational influence, like walking and running.
Depending on the desired configuration, various motion capture systems such as Vicon, Theia, and Xsens can be integrated at the facility to accurately track the movements of subjects during experiments. Additionally, neurophysiological measurement tools are available to investigate motor control properties of humans moving in altered gravitational environments.
Aouda spacesuit simulator (Optional)
To mimic the physiological workload on test subjects, the Austrian Space Forum offers the usage of it’s Aouda spacesuit simulators. These systems have a weight of 50 kg and reproduce via a exoskeleton the restrictions and impediments of a pressurized a spacesuit with an internal suit pressure of between 0,4 – 0,8 bar.
The suits are a complex system that require substantial training, hence the test subjects can only be certified analog astronauts of the Austrian Space Forum (currently 11 male, 2 female individuals). Operating the research-grade spacesuit simulators requires the support of suit technicians and a prior safety assessment for usage at the VTF.
The Vertical Treadmill is open for research proposals
The administrative and logistics coordination is handled by the Austrian Space Forum, providing an inventory of physiological and biomechanical measurement systems at hand for investigators interested in using the facility. The implementation and conduct of the experiments is done by the respective research teams. Technicians trained with the vertical treadmill will introduce the device and support experiment implementation.
The usage of the Aouda spacesuit simulator can be combined for additional physiological load patterns pertinent to lunar and Martian conditions, including real-time telemetry from the suit sensor network.
Research projects need to be funded by the respective proposer, taking into account the operating costs of the VTF and required laboratory infrastructure. The ESA Continuously Open Research Announcements (CORA) program offers funding for researchers from ESA member states.
ESA CORA program:
- https://scispace.esa.int/research-opportunities/title-of-the-cora-or-ao-open-02-03-close-01-04/
- http://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/GBF/CORA_GBF.pdf
Typical workflow for using the Vertical Treadmill Facility:
- 1. An initial conversation (eg telecon) on the research topic, methodology, including logistics, technical and administrative matters between the guest researchers and the Austrian Space Forum.
- 2. Guest researchers compile a proposal to the ESA CORA program (if ESA funding is desired). Once a positive decision is reached, the researchers
- a) consolidate the experiment workflows in a second iteration with the Austrian Space Forum (e.g. telecon or site visit
- b) receive detailed information about the treadmill usage and additional information as requested
- c) agree with the Austrian Space Forum about the timeline. Typically, the time between the CORA approval and the VTF experiment would be typically between 1-4 month.
- 3. The guest researchers conduct the experiment(s), whereas the utilization of the VTF (and the spacesuit simulator or VTF-related diagnostic equipment like motion capture) is operated by the Austrian Space Forum.
Examples of VTF research publications
- Yilmaz, K. and Rittweger, J., 2018. Assessment of vertical treadmill running under different levels of simulated gravity, using a vertical treadmill facility with a subject loading system (Avatar).
- Yilmaz, K., Burnley, M., Böcker, J., Müller, K., Jones, A.M. and Rittweger, J. (2021), Influence of simulated hypogravity on oxygen uptake during treadmill running. Physiol Rep, 9: e14787. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.14787
- Weber, T., Green, D.A., Attias, J., Sies, W., Frechette, A., Braunstein, B. and Rittweger, J., 2019. Hopping in hypogravity—A rationale for a plyometric exercise countermeasure in planetary exploration missions. PloS one, 14(2), p.e0211263.
Header Image: OeWF/vog.photo
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