Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Broken Exercise Equipment on International Space Station

Filed under: Space Medicine

The Washington Times is reporting that the international space station (ISS) is currently zero for three on working exercise machines. The treadmill, "bicycle-like device" and weight room are all out of commission.

Judith Hayes of NASA's Johnson Space Center said each of the International Space Station's three exercise machines has had mechanical problems, and it's rare for all to be completely functional at the same time.

The intense exercise is necessary to maintain the health of the astronauts in space and ensure they can safely exit from their spacecraft in an emergency or an off-course landing, officials said. For missions to the moon or Mars, the astronauts will have to maintain their physical strength enough to exit their spacecraft and do useful tasks on the surface.

Other scientists at the meeting presented studies on exercises and medical kits for missions to the moon and Mars. Any exercise equipment, they said, will have to fit inside a 1-cubic-foot box, weigh a maximum of 22 pounds, and make use of far less volume than what's available on existing spacecraft.

Students from Dartmouth College demonstrated one possibility -- stretching elastic nylon straps for various muscle groups.

It's interesting to think that they couldn't get the whole workout done using different sets of the elastic bands. Although, NASA rarely seems interested in the simplest solution.

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