While
toiling outside the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts depend on
spacesuits not only to stay alive in their airless environments, but also to
stay cool during their rigorous, hours-long work to maintain the orbital
laboratory.
Engineers
in Europe are adapting the same cooling systems used inside those spacesuits to
aid firefighters, industrial workers and others who face scorching temperatures
on Earth. Dubbed the Safe&Cool program, the work is part of technology
transfer effort by the European Space Agency (ESA).
"The main
goal is to keep the temperature and humidity levels inside [work] suits at a
comfortable level when operating in harsh environments," Stefano Carosio,
Safe&Cool project manager for ESA at the Italian firm D'Appolonia, told SPACE.com.
"We used in particular the concept of cooling vests worn by astronauts for
thermal management."
ESA
officials said that an average of about 1,500 cases of heat stroke occur each
year in Europe due to the work garments that are incapable of sufficiently shedding
excess heat or moisture. An estimated 50,000 are subjected to heat stress, which
can lead to injury due to loss of concentration, they added.
A cooler
worksuit
Before stepping
into their NASA
spacesuits, astronauts don a one-piece mesh garment lined with water-cooling
tubes. The suit makes up about 6.5 pounds (2.9 kilograms) of the more than 100-pound
(45 kilogram) U.S.-built Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), which can be
subjected to temperatures of up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 Celsius) in full
sunlight, according to NASA descriptions.
On Earth, Carosio
and his team wove the spacesuit inspired water-cooling tubes into a fabric composed
of materials tailored to keep the skin feeling dry while siphoning off moisture
through suction channels. A water-binding polymer coats the fabric, absorbing
excess moisture or releasing it during "flash events," when the cooling system
is overwhelmed, to mimic the human body's sweating process.
Once assembled,
the warped and knitted fabric forms the central layer of a traditional
three-layer protective garment, the ESA said.
"The idea
was to combine advanced polymers to bind humidity and cooling systems, and to
reduce temperature in order to recreate an integrated air conditioning system,"
Carosio said, adding that the system can be adapted to suit its wearer's
purpose. "It is definitely a matter of functional design."
More
work needed
But clearly
work remains to be done.
Safe&Cool
researchers hope to their project will yield protective clothing robust enough
to meet directives set by the European Union. The technology has already found
uses in competitive racing in clothing developed by the firm Grado Aero Espace,
with Spanish Moto-GP driver Sete Gibernau donning a cooling vest while Formula-1
McLaren mechanics donned whole suits in a trial.
"We did
explore them," McLaren spokesperson Clare Robertson told SPACE.com.
McLaren
officials said pit mechanics wore the specialized cooling suits during a
practice run to test their effectiveness, but found that the standard,
fire-retardant Nomex suits were still a better choice for their needs.
Meanwhile,
ESA officials believe the cooling technology could eventually prove a viable
alternative for sportswear as well as protective gear, with the Poland-based
firm TAPS testing its potential to regulate temperatures in car sears and other
transports.
"Further
functionalities are being investigated," Carosio said.
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