NASA VIS Project: Biomechanics of Exercise Stability During Perturbations in Human Exploration Missions
Mentor Information
Stephanie Carey (College of Engineering)
Description
As spaceflight missions increase in both duration and complexity, responses to environmental changes become a crucial focus for astronaut health and success. For human spaceflight to the Moon or Mars, smaller exercise equipment needs to be designed to counter bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and decreased aerobic capacity. A Vibration Isolation & Stabilization system (VIS) will also need to be developed to prevent cyclic exercise forces from impacting the space vehicle. The purpose of this project is to determine if the VIS motion in-turn affects the stability of the astronaut’s exercise. Using a simulated analog for an active or passive VIS, the effect of ground perturbation on movement reactions is addressed, including joint load and muscle activation, as well as how these data can be used for future implementation of countermeasures via computational modeling. Different combinations of mass, spring, and damping coefficients can be applied to the simulated VIS to test varying levels of perturbation during exercise procedures. Through the collection of kinetic and kinematic data, exercise stability can be analyzed to provide insight on how astronauts can benefit most from their exercise programs.
NASA VIS Project: Biomechanics of Exercise Stability During Perturbations in Human Exploration Missions
As spaceflight missions increase in both duration and complexity, responses to environmental changes become a crucial focus for astronaut health and success. For human spaceflight to the Moon or Mars, smaller exercise equipment needs to be designed to counter bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and decreased aerobic capacity. A Vibration Isolation & Stabilization system (VIS) will also need to be developed to prevent cyclic exercise forces from impacting the space vehicle. The purpose of this project is to determine if the VIS motion in-turn affects the stability of the astronaut’s exercise. Using a simulated analog for an active or passive VIS, the effect of ground perturbation on movement reactions is addressed, including joint load and muscle activation, as well as how these data can be used for future implementation of countermeasures via computational modeling. Different combinations of mass, spring, and damping coefficients can be applied to the simulated VIS to test varying levels of perturbation during exercise procedures. Through the collection of kinetic and kinematic data, exercise stability can be analyzed to provide insight on how astronauts can benefit most from their exercise programs.
