1210-ScienceReport

Science Report

12/10/2013

Eric Watkins

A significant risk during spaceflight is protecting crewmembers while they conduct operations

outside the spacecraft or on the surface of settings like the Moon or Mars. Space suit design has

evolved significantly since the early days of the Mercury program in the United States. The current

EVA suit used by crewmembers aboard the ISS is a marvel of technological innovation, however these

suits are bulky, require a large amount of storage space, and are not particularly flexible thereby

limiting physical movement. Therefore, for missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the

Moon, Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), and Mars, research is needed to develop flexible and protective

space suits for extravehicular activities (EVAs) outside the spacecraft and for surface operations

(e.g., on Mars).

Final Frontier Design is a private space suit design company that is currently working to address

this need for a new and more flexible space suit. The Embry-Riddle Human Factors Department has

partnered with Final Frontier Design to test various space suit components for usability. Final

Frontier Design has allowed Crew 131 to borrow a set of prototype gloves for usability testing

during their mission. This usability testing will involve completing fine motor tasks inside the

Hab as well as outside the Hab during walking and ATV EVAs. Following each test, participants will

complete the System Usability Scale as well as a brief questionnaire with questions specific to the

use of these gloves. So far, data has been collected on two participants over the past two days.

Each crewmember will participate in the Glove testing twice during Crew 131’s two-week mission.

Additionally, the Human Factors Department has provided Crew 131 with an additional study which

involves determining the efficiency of an armband display while attached to a space suit. All

participants will take part in the study twice throughout the two-week mission. Currently, armbands

have been operated by four participants over the past two days and will continue to be used for

both walking and ATV EVA’s. Participants will take one questionnaire, the System Usability Scale

(SUS), once they have returned from their EVA. At the conclusion of this study, we hope that the

data collected will provide us with useful information for improving the Final Frontier Design

Gloves as well as insight into whether an armband device would be a useful addition to the ERAU

Human Factors Department EVA suit design.