| Title: | Beyond the suit: exploring the future of medication delivery in space : assessing new spacesuit technologies to access emergency medications during future extravehicular activities |
| Authors: | Carla Tamai, Author |
| Material Type: | ISU Individual Project |
| Publisher: | Illkirch-Graffenstaden (France) : International Space University, 2023 |
| Format: | 1 electronic resource (viii, 54 p.) / col. ill. |
| Bibliography note: | Includes bibliographical references |
| Languages: | English |
| Class number: | TL1550 |
| Subjects: | Astronauts--Health ; Emergency medicine ; Extravehicular activity (Manned space flight) ; Extravehicular space suits ; Space suits (EVA) |
| Description: |
Until now, all extravehicular activities (EVAs) in Space have been very short and in the proximity of the vehicle. Therefore, medications during EVAs have never been necessary. However, with the Artemis program ongoing and future numerous human spaceflight missions, it is predicted for EVAs to be much further away, more demanding and frequent, thus leading to more risks and injuries for the astronauts.
To prepare for this, it is advisable to develop easy-to-use technology to incorporate into EVA spacesuits that would mitigate any problem. The aim of this project is to evaluate the best, cheapest, and easiest technology. After extended research, remote-controlled microneedle patches meet many of the requirements. They are able to inject medications directly into the upper dermis layer, once the signal is sent from the astronauts’ control panel. At the moment, potential medications to include are adrenaline, ibuprofen and modafinil, for, respectively, emergency cases, pain relief, and alertness, these being considered the most common issues during EVAs. Spacesuits are very expensive and each small variation can carry significant costs. The solution and simplest method to solve an issue that is relevant now and will be even more in the future. |
| ISU program : | Master of Space Studies |
| Format : | Online/Open Access |
| Permalink: | https://isulibrary.isunet.edu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=11875 |
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 Tamai, Carla_IP (32,7KB) Adobe Acrobat PDF |
