Frontiers|What high-tech clothing does the astronauts need at the space station to prevent various diseases?

In the space station era, astronauts need to live in space for a long time. Although the space station provides basic protection for the astronauts' body, it may cause nausea, claustrophobia, muscle atrophy and headache due to long-term weightlessness, claustrophobia, extreme temperature and light environment. , eye fatigue and rearrangement of the spine. To ensure that astronauts remain healthy during long-term space station life, astronauts still need to wear lightweight protective clothing in the space station to protect the human body in a targeted manner.

Ultra-light pressure suit: anti-spine rearrangement

According to reports, astronauts rearrange the spine in a weightless environment, which can increase the length of the body by 7cm. In addition to back pain, the probability of lumbar disc herniation after returning to the earth is four times higher than that of the average person. To this end, the Space Medicine Office of the European Aerospace Agency (ESA) Astronaut Center is working with the University of London's King's College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a project called Skinsuit.

The project aims to provide astronauts with a high-tech tight-fitting suit to combat astronauts' increased length and lumbar protrusion due to weight loss in space. According to reports, the Skinsuit is a tailor-made garment made of spandex elastic bi-directional woven fabric that can squeeze the astronaut's body from the shoulder to the foot and counteract the gravity deficiency by applying pressure similar to the Earth's gravity.

Through constant adjustments to precise pressure applications, the researchers sought to develop a comfortable and effective clothing system that would allow astronauts to wear both at work and at rest. It is reported that the researchers of the project team are still developing alternative materials other than spandex.

Functional 3D knitwear: slows down fatigue and muscle soreness

Fabdesigns has developed a range of highly flexible 3D knitwear for spacesuits that are designed to provide flame retardant to astronauts through the use of Kevlar®, Spectra®, silicon and other specialty yarns combined with special fabric construction. And thermal protection, radiation protection and a certain amount of pressure, combined with muscle activation technology to solve the problem of space disease and muscle loss - using external current stimulation, and using sensors to receive data, increase venous blood flow and circulation, reduce fatigue and muscle soreness, Helps the body quickly remove lactic acid and enhance strength.

Radiation protection vest: reduce the probability of cancer

In April of this year, NASA signed an agreement with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) to test the AstroRad radiation protection vest in space, allowing the launch of the Orion EM-1 (Orion Spacecraft Rover No. 1) manned space mission. In the last test flight, the AstroRad vest was sent to space for testing.

The AstroRad vest is based on StemRad's successful global use in the field of on-site first aid, based on the principle of selective bone marrow protection, for blood cell renewal and other sensitive organs susceptible to cancer due to radiation. It is important, such as the lungs, breasts, stomach, colon and ovaries.

ISA will also conduct an ergonomic evaluation of the vest at the International Space Station (ISS) in early 2019, and the radiation protection data obtained in the Orion EM-1 will provide NASA with information to determine if the AstroRad vest is It can be used as a personal protective device necessary for future space missions.

Smart clothing: health monitoring, illness relief, assisted exercise

Integrating functional or intelligent components into astronaut apparel to provide health monitoring, symptom relief, and assisted exercise has become a preferred solution to help solve astronaut health problems.

For example, to help astronauts eliminate negative emotions and stress responses, scientists at the Florida Institute of Technology are developing a new environment-adjustable spacesuit that is said to be capable of monitoring the environment in which astronauts are located. Adjust the temperature, light level, light color and oxygen content to make the environment more enjoyable, so as to help the astronauts stay healthy and calm.

In order to scientifically evaluate the training effects of various training aids and astronauts, ESA and the Danish smart textile company Ohmatex have jointly developed a smart sock that integrates near-infrared sensors and textile electromyography (EMG) electrodes into special socks. It can show the electrical activity and metabolic activity of the leg muscles.