310: Biomedical Monitoring for Astronauts (BMA)

Engineering Senior Design Team 310 members standing together on FAMU-FSU College of Engineering third floor breezeway

Spacesuit design is currently an active area of research. Engineers and scientists are always working to improve current and future missions in space. Working in a pressurized suit in outer space presents a range of challenges. These include monitoring the in-suit environment and the astronaut’s health. We created a sensor system for monitoring an astronaut’s health and in-suit environment. Our goal was to accurately measure critical metrics for research and safety purposes.

Our sensor system consists of three modules, the first of which is a set of environmental sensors for measuring CO₂ concentration, ambient temperature and humidity. To monitor astronaut health, we designed a set of biomedical sensors on the foot to measure heart rate, sweat levels and body temperature. Finally, a main processing unit reads and interprets sensor data. We designed and fabricated a custom printed circuit board to house the processor. The device can measure selected variables, store them locally and transmit the data to an external device. This project was a proof-of-concept design to monitor astronaut vital signs and the environmental conditions in a spacesuit. Our final deliverable serves as a prototype for a sensor unit that could be used during an extravehicular activity mission.

Evan Cloutier, Austin Roberts, Jada Davism, Dallas Toth, Landon Hicks, Nicholas Billmire

Babak Noroozi, Ph.D.

L3Harris

Spring