Countering Balance Impairments in Microgravity and Earth Environments Using a Reactive Balance System

Astronauts experience acute balance and coordination impairment when returning from long-duration spaceflight. Existing countermeasures provide minimal utility beyond rudimentary testing on Earth, leaving astronauts with an intensive post flight recovery period, ranging from a few days to several months. The Astronaut Stability and Training Response Apparatus (ASTRA) reduces the time required for astronauts to recover their balance and coordination as a portable and affordable balance board that the crew can use both on Earth and in microgravity. This paper proposes a system which can train one degree of motion in a gravitational field and two degrees of motion in a microgravity environment. ASTRA is an actuated, reactive balance board system. It reacts to the sway of the subject with one of three response options: direct motion, accentuated motion, or countered motion. We have simplified the responsive options to these three states to create a targeted yet adaptable training experience. Sensory cues are presented, and a score is generated based on how the subject reacts and shifts their center of pressure. The system achieves this by taking the user’s input (center of pressure) and relaying that data to the software subsystem. Continuous use of ASTRA provides users with a quantitative evaluation of their balance training progress, allowing them to maximize their reactive balance abilities and preserve their coordination skills throughout a spaceflight mission. From data derived through testing, ASTRA supports TBD lbs and reacts at a speed of TBD Hz at TBD degrees of accuracy. ASTRA's ability to improve balance and coordination skills proves to be an advantageous reinforcement of astronauts' stability as they navigate the tribulations of microgravity.