About Time Somebody Thought of This

[zellerzone]

Skintight 'superhero' space suit aims to fight bone loss

By John D. Sutter, CNN
November 5, 2010 10:01 a.m. EDT | Filed under: Innovation

A prototype space suit from MIT aims to compress astronaut skeletons,
preventing
bone loss in space.

(CNN) -- It's probably not great for your image if your astronaut
buddies can
see your boxer briefs through your stretchy space suit.

But if that same low-gravity outfit -- a prototype from MIT that looks
more fit
for Aquaman than beefy astronaut heroes like Buzz Aldrin -- also stops
your
bones from decaying and keeps your spine from abnormally elongating,
then maybe
it's worth the embarrassment.

Researchers from MIT's Man Vehicle Laboratory recently published a
paper in the
journal Acta Astronautica that details a prototype space suit called
the
"gravity loading countermeasure skinsuit," or GLCS for short (not that
the
acronym really helps).

The suit tries to replicate the force of gravity by squeezing
astronauts from
the shoulders to the ankles, putting pressure on their skeletons.
That's
important because people who spend much time in low-gravity
environments
experience bone loss. Leg bones, which are most susceptible because
they carry
so much weight on the Earth, lose about 1 to 2 percent of their mass
per month
in low-gravity environments, the report says.

More at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/11/05/gravity.space.suit/