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News

Making the moonwalk easier

UH doctoral student uses cutting-edge technology to reduce the bulkiness of spacesuits' life-support pack

by MAYRA CRUZ
The Daily Cougar

Thirty-four years after the last human stood on the moon, one UH student is making strides toward ensuring the next lunar hike is easier and safer.

UH doctoral student in health and human performance Melissa Scott-Pandorf has been working to improve astronaut suits to increase mobility and stability on the moon's surface. 

Last summer, as an intern at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute she was able to go to Johnson Space Center and analyze data regarding astronauts walking on the moon.

"I saw a lot of video from the Apollo lunar missions, and it was obvious to everyone … that there was an issue with astronauts falling while they were trying to perform their activities on the moon," Scott-Pandorf said.

As a fellow of the Texas Space Grant Consortium, Scott-Pandorf's research in biomechanics is meant to improve the astronauts' center of gravity when walking on the moon.

Scott-Pandorf utilized equipment at the University's Laboratory of Integrated Physiology to gather data for her work.

"Most of what I'm doing deals with the life support pack, referred to as PLSS (portable life support system) at NASA," she said. "So what my research is going to do is look at different ways to configure that life support unit so that you don't have it so high and bulky on their back."

To simulate lunar gravity, she used a space suspension system. The mechanism -- which records the movement of a subject's legs through reflectors -- operates in a manner similar to that used for special effects in movies or video games.

"We use all these cameras to get three-dimensional information about the person walking," she said.

As for the current spacesuit, Scott-Pandorf said the design is still bulky but less than those used on the Apollo missions.

"It's not like my research is going to completely alter the way a spacesuit is made," she said. "But it can be a piece of the puzzle of trying to improve the spacesuit design, so the astronauts aren't falling as often or so they aren't using up as much energy to be walking around."

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