Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Exploration
The “Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Exploration” is an integrated countermeasure platform to mitigate the spaceflight-induced physiologic adaptation and de-conditioning that manifests during long-duration spaceflight and gravitational transitions. The V2Suit integrates flywheel gyroscopes and inertial measurement units within a wearable module that can be placed on the body segments, and when commanded in a coordinated manner provides a “viscous resistance” during movements. The system architecture, human-system integration, and three six degree-of-freedom simulations are presented which describe the magnitude and direction of the gyroscopic torque and resulting force within the module during representative arm movements. The results demonstrate of the ability of the V2Suit module design to generate a reaction force along a specified direction and reject perturbations due to body kinematics - collectively illustrating the feasibility of the concept.