ESA Astronaut 'Skinsuit' Could Soothe Zero-G Backaches in Space

This high-tech "skinsuit" for astronauts is a tailor-made overall with a bi-directional weave specially designed to counteract the lack of gravity to help avoid backaches. 

It squeezes the body from the shoulders to the feet with a similar force to that felt on Earth. 

Credit: NASA–Waldie

A new tight-fitting "skinsuit" could help astronauts combat the back problems that are a common consequence of long-term spaceflight, researchers say.

Astronauts have grown as much as 2.75 inches (7 centimeters) during space missions as their spines stretch out in microgravity conditions— a dramatic change that can cause significant pain, European Space Agency (ESA) officials said.

Andreas Mogensen

The problems often continue back on Earth, as astronauts have a high chance of suffering a slipped disk while working themselves back into shape for terrestrial life.

ESA hopes the new skinsuit will make off-planet living much more comfortable by counteracting the lack of gravity.

The garment features a bi-directional weave that squeezes the body from the shoulders to the feet, mimicking the gravitational force felt on Earth.

This high-tech "skinsuit" for astronauts is a tailor-made overall with a bi-directional weave specially designed to counteract the lack of gravity. 

Here, the force the suit is producing is being measured at the feet with a computer using force transducers in the soles of the footwear. 

Credit: NASA–Waldie

"Getting the suit to fit correctly was challenging," Simon Evetts, medical projects and technology unit team lead at ESA's European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany, said in a statement.

Simon Evetts

"We needed to create a suit that is both tight-fitting but comfortable to wear, while creating the right amount of force in the right places."

ESA's Space Medicine Office is working with researchers from Kings College and University College in London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to test out skinsuit prototypes, which are currently made of spandex.

The suit will get a flight test in 2015, when ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen wears it aboard the International Space Station, officials said.

Credit: Kings College London, Centre for Human Aerospace Physiological Sciences (CHAPS)