Space-age textiles
13/03/2014
A German astronaut from the European Space Agency, Alexander Gerst, will be among the crew on board the International Space Station for a mission called Blue Dot, leaving in May 2014. Spacetex will be one of 40 research projects that will form part of the five-month mission.
The partners involved have said they hope tests that take place in the weightless environment of the space station will help them develop new textile products for use in extreme climates on Earth.
At the same time, the data collected should help organisations such as the European Space Agency decide on astronauts’ clothing for future missions, such as a three-year voyage to Mars that is planned for around 2030.
Project leader, the head of research and development at the department of function and care at the Hohenstein Institute, Dr Jan Beringer, said on announcing Spacetex that he sees great potential for improving the wearing comfort and additional functions of clothing. He said: “Among other things, the lack of gravity affects the way body-heat and sweat are transported through clothing worn next to the skin. To ensure that the body’s cooling mechanism is still properly maintained, textiles have to be specially adapted for use in space.”
For his part, Hans-Jürgen Hübner, chief executive of Schoeller Medical, said: “Not only will future astronauts benefit, but also people here on Earth who go to the limits of their physical endurance or have to deliver peak performance in extreme ambient conditions.”
Image shows German astronaut Alexander Gerst in weightlessness training.
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