BENGALURU: Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, is in the process of developing a fit-to-body medical parameters tracking vest which will be worn by the Gaganauts, the four astronauts chosen for India’s first manned space mission scheduled for late 2021. These live body tracking suits, known as ‘bio vests’, will be wearable health monitoring systems with physiological sensors which keep a check on the wearers’ vital parameters, including heart rate and skin temperature.
The suit transfers signals pertaining to the health parameters of the astronauts from the spacecraft to the mission control room, said Vinoth P, scientist and member of DEBEL team at the 107th Indian Science Congress under way in Bengaluru.The signals will be analysed by doctors from Bengaluru-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM). With the inputs from the vest, one can decide how to deal with the changing physiology of the astronaut or decide if the mission has to be aborted in case the parameters go well beyond the threshold during the mission.
The DEBEL team has also designed an emergency survival system which includes 10 protective items when the astronauts’ capsule lands in the sea while returning to earth on completion of the mission.The system is also designed to ensure the survival of the astronauts in case of an unplanned rescue -- which means, if the mission is aborted due to unforeseen circumstances -- either because of system failures or the deteriorating health of any of the astronauts. The emergency kit will help the astronaut survive for at least 72 hours in an unplanned rescue, Vinoth said.
DEBEL has been developing the bio vest for six months now and will send it for the live tests during the first trial on an unmanned Gaganyaan mission slated for December 2020 or early 2021 ahead of the manned mission.The four Gaganauts are scheduled to begin training in Russia in the third week of January.