Overview:
NASA is seeking aerobic and fitness monitoring devices that can monitor and track real time measurements of cardiovascular health to inform requirements for exercise systems to enable future manned missions without jeopardizing astronaut’s health and safety.
Background:
Exercise is paramount to maintaining crew health during space exploration missions. As NASA prepares for longer manned missions to Mars, there is a need for integrated fitness monitoring devices that can accurately measure and monitor crewmember’s health in real time. Aerobic monitoring devices are used to measure and track indicators of cardiovascular fitness which may include, but is not limited to heart rate and oxygen use. This project aims to identify and investigate emerging and existing technologies in this space.
Constraints:
A wide range of solutions will be considered including devices that can measure aerobic fitness directly through expired gases and indirectly by measuring physiological indicators such as heart rate. There are some restrictions due to the resource limitations and environment of space. Aerobic fitness monitoring devices of interest would be as close as possible to the following parameters:
- Work in the absence of gravity/Be suitable for microgravity environments
- Operate offline without internet or cloud connection
- Require minimal calibration
- Function under different cabin pressures
- Be compact and lightweight
- Be energy efficient
Possible Solution Areas:
- Wearables
- Gas sensors
- Direct and indirect aerobic monitoring
- Respiratory health monitoring
Desired outcome of the solution:
NASA seeks to test promising devices in-house
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