Wearables for Life in Space

This chapter provides a review of recent advancements in wearable technology for space missions. It starts with a preliminary description of the environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and the biological effects of this environment on the astronauts, together with some comments on technological issues to be addressed in the design of devices for use inside the spacecraft. This will be followed by a description of the smart garments employed so far on the ISS for the health monitoring of astronauts, and the wearable devices recently implemented for radiation protection and low-back pain prevention. The subsequent sections report on the environments encountered by the astronauts during their extravehicular activities for the ISS assembly and repair, and on the technology for the spacesuit development. Finally, a brief note is provided on the expected progress in wearable technology for life on Moon and Mars.