Swole in Space

NASA Exercise Apparatus

 

Member profile details

Membership level
2015-2016 Team
Project Thumbnail Image
Team Name
Swole in Space
Project Title
NASA Exercise Apparatus
Design Challenge
The goal of our design project is to engineer a compact, durable, user-friendly, and easily-maintained multipurpose exercise apparatus for NASA’s Orion spacecraft in order to maintain the physical health of the astronauts during their 21-to 45-day journey to Mars.
Design Summary
Our design team will be designing and prototyping a potential exercise apparatus to be used on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Our clients include a biomechanist and engineer at the Wyle Science, Technology, and Engineering Group, working for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The goal of our design project is to maintain the physical health of the astronauts during their 21-to 45-day journey to Mars. Since astronauts will be subject to microgravity for an extended period of time, they will be extremely prone to bone and muscle loss: 1% to 2% of bone density is lost per month spent in microgravity, and up to 20% of muscle mass is lost on spaceflights lasting five to 11 days. When astronauts both land on Mars and return to Earth, they must be able to perform normal physical tasks under the increased force of gravity. Current specialized apparatuses used on the International Space Station (such as treadmills) are effective, but they are too large to fit into the Orion capsule’s habitable volume of only 8.95 m3. Therefore, our aim is to engineer a compact, durable, user-friendly, and easily-maintained multipurpose exercise apparatus.
Date Updated
Monday, January 25, 2016
Sponsors
Karen and Richard Whitney
Department(s)
  • Freshman Design
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Faculty Advisor 1 - Name
Ann Saterbak
Faculty Advisor 1 - Department
  • BIOE
Faculty Advisor 2 - Name
Matthew Wettergreen
Faculty Advisor 2 - Department
  • OTHER
 

Team Members

Award(s) and Recognition
Best Technology for Low-Resource Settings Design, 2016 George R. Brown School of Engineering Design Showcase and Poster Competition
Winner

Contact us

Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen
Rice University

6100 Main Street MS 390 | Houston, Texas | 77005

Phone: 713.348.OEDK

Email: oedk@rice.edu

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