Besides spacewalks, what experiments are being done on the Polaris Dawn mission?

THE Polaris Dawn mission from Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, made history this week by taking civilians on a spacewalk. However, the trip, which reached the furthest point from Earth since NASA’s Apollo missions, was not just for “space tourism”: it is also aims to carry out tests and studies in different areas of space technology .

From creating new technology for astronaut suits to medical research for NASA, the mission is already considered the company’s most daring and innovative and is a milestone for advances in space tourism. See below some of the mission’s tests:

Innovation in spacesuits

NASA has been studying a replacement for traditional “astronaut suits” for some time. In less than three years, during the development of Polaris Dawn, SpaceX created its own spacesuits and put them to the test on the mission.

Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits do not have a Primary Life Support System (or PLSS), which are the “backpacks” that allow astronauts to float more freely through space, essential when they need to carry out repairs to parts outside the space station.

In this case, the quartet is receiving life support through hoses attached to the spacecraft, a measure that is considered high risk.

The model also includes a HUD (Head-Up display), state-of-the-art helmet cameras and new thermal management fabrics.

During the spacewalk that took place on Thursday morning (12), one of the crew members, Jared Isaacman, moved his arms to test the efficiency of the joints in the new suit. Everything seemed to work well, and the lessons learned will serve as a basis for suits used in even more distant missions, such as to the Moon and Mars.

Starlink Communication

The use of laser technology for space communication is also on the list of space innovations that SpaceX is proposing with Polaris Dawn.

Dubbed “Plug and Placer” by the company, the mechanism allows data transmission between satellites and spacecraft through light beams, offering faster and more reliable communication compared to traditional radio frequency-based technologies.

Laser communication eliminates the need to go through ground stations, reducing latency and allowing large volumes of data to be transmitted at high speeds — yet the spacewalk transmission was interrupted.

The “Plug and Place” system was installed in the Dragon capsule’s cargo bay, enabling communication with Starlink satellites throughout the mission. A Starlink router was also installed in the Dragon’s cabin to provide internet access to the crew.

While it is currently being tested in space, satellite-based laser communications are also important for communications on Earth — the technology is a growing market, driven by demand for greater data transmission capacity and the need for faster, more secure connections in space. The market is expected to reach more than $6 billion by 2028, according to Business Research Insights.

Medical research

The four crew members of the mission are conducting research for NASA’s Human Research Program during the space trip. The studies will help the agency better understand how exposure to space affects humans.

The focus of the study includes the use of telemedicine, information on space sickness, injuries caused by travel, and understanding how exposure to this level of radiation affects human beings.

The Polaris Dawn crew is testing a device that collects information about blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature. The device also provides ultrasound imaging and a technology being tested that can diagnose crew members in real time.

During the test, vital signs are collected and, through a Starlink system, there is communication with doctors and specialists on Earth. During the trip, the technology attempts to provide a diagnosis based on the information and documents made available in real time.

In addition, another point of medical research is to understand what the symptoms of space sickness are like and how to avoid them. The study is based on the notes that the crew members are making about what they are feeling and what they are doing to prevent more severe symptoms.

The team is also providing data on physical and mental health through tests performed before, during and after the mission. The research will include analyses of behavior, sleep, bone density, eye health, cognitive function, as well as blood, urine and breath tests.

*Mariana Cury is an intern under the supervision of Bruno Romani

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This content was originally published in In addition to spacewalks, what experiments are carried out on the Polaris Dawn mission on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil