15 JUL 2024

Prof Siobhan Banks - Aerospace Psychology Consultant

Siobhan Banks is a Professor of Psychology at UniSA and Director of the Behaviour-Brain-Body Research Centre.

Her research focuses on the interactions between biology, behaviour, and technology. She collaborates with 24/7 industries like healthcare, transportation, defence, and aerospace to enhance worker performance, health and well-being. With over $11M in research funding, she has earned the 2019 Australian Council Graduate Research Award for Industry Engagement and was a 2021 finalist for the ADM Women in Defence Awards.

01 JUL 2024

The work of Human Aerospace is the focus of an article by the Australian Space Agency in their “Advancing Medical Science” series. The agency introduces various examples of aerospace medicine, and then shows how the compression skinsuits of Human Aerospace addresses a number of human spaceflight deconditioning issues, and what innovations are in store for the future. While not described in the article, one of our EVA suit concepts is also shown.

https://www.space.gov.au/space-environment-advancing-medical-science

20 JUN 2024

Dr Alicia Tucker - Emergency, Hyperbaric and Space Medicine Consultant

Alicia, an Australian Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine Physician, holds specialist qualifications in Emergency Medicine and Aerospace Medicine. She has served as a Retrieval doctor with the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service, a Ship’s Physician to Antarctica, and as an Event and Expedition Medical Officer, gaining extensive experience in International Medical Repatriation.

Currently based at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Alicia is a Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine and Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine. The hospital's Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine department boasts a unique chamber in the Southern Hemisphere, capable of both Hyperbaric up to 6ATA and Hypobaric up to 100K ft. Alicia specializes in 'fitness to fly' and 'fitness to dive' medical evaluations and is developing an Altitude Physiology Training Program while conducting research in Aerospace Medicine.

13 JUN 2024

John is the Director of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine (ASAM) and chairs its Space Life Science Committee. He serves on the Australian Space Agency’s Applied Space Medicine and Life Sciences Technical Advisory Group. His past experience includes work with NASA and the European Space Agency, developing medical support and training for astronauts. He is a Senior Lecturer in Space Medicine at the University of Tasmania.

Dr. Cherry specializes in emergency medicine, anaesthetics, and rural and remote medicine, holding Fellowships with several prestigious societies, including the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine. Currently, he works as a Head Office doctor for the Australian Antarctic Division, having completed an over-winter deployment in 2021 and a recent deep field deployment to Little Dome C. Prior to his medical career, he was an astrophysicist, commercial helicopter pilot, high school science teacher.

07 JUN 2024

Congratulations to Ruth Bunford on her progress presentation - well on her way to her PhD. Ruth is supervised by James Waldie and industry partner Human Aerospace on her thesis topic “Spacesuits for Preserving Human Health and Mobility” at RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles.

Today Ruth was describing the benefits of designing compression garments for the posture they will be worn in, rather than the standard patterns of the standing pose.

This is critical when we consider the orthostatic intolerance garment is worn in the recumbent position during re-entry.

Dr Anthony Rengel – Aerospace Medicine Registrar, Rural Remote and Retrieval Medicine

Anthony is a versatile aerospace medicine practitioner, rural generalist, and commercial pilot based in Western Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Rural & Remote Medicine and is currently completing specialist fellowship training with the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine. His career highlights include roles as a designated aviation medical examiner for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and specializing in aeromedical retrieval for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

He has held a Commercial Pilot Licence since age 15 and has managed fly-out GP clinics in rural Western Australia and holds various qualifications such as a Master of Aviation Medicine from the University of Otago and several Post-Graduate Certificates. Joining Human Aerospace, Anthony aims to contribute his expertise to shaping aerospace medicine policy and capabilities in Australia.

14 MAR 2024

The Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit was worn on the Space Station by Andreas Mogensen in 2015 and Thomas Pesquet in 2017. Dr James Waldie originally designed the suit in 1999, and pursued it further at UCSD, ISU, MIT and RMIT before it became an ESA project in 2008. The suit is designed to replicate the normal loading on our skeletal system to help reduce the bone atrophy of up to 1.5% per month while floating unloaded in the microgravity environment of space. It is also important to preserve spinal shape. The vertical tension of the Skinsuit is designed to mimic the gradually increasing load from the shoulders the feet when standing on earth, and the circumferential compression provides an anchor for the gradual stretch and imparts the load. One of the flown suits is on display in the EAC foyer, and it was obviously a thrill for James to see it again!

Dr Calum Young – Consultant, Aerospace Cardiology

Calum graduated from the University of Otago and Wellington School of Medicine in 1994 and has served as a Consultant Cardiologist in Tauranga, New Zealand since 2004. His focus lies in cardiac risk assessment and Cardiac CT scanning, bolstered by a 2013 sabbatical spent with various Cardiac CT centres across the UK and Europe.

In 2018, Calum achieved Distinction in his Master of Aviation Medicine and Post Graduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine. He holds Fellowships with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Actively engaged in the aerospace medical community, he serves on committees for the Aerospace Medical Society of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine.

13 MAR 2024

Drs James Waldie and Braid McRae were invited as members of the Australian Space Agency’s recent envoy to the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. Specifically, HA was tasked with demonstrating our new suit technologies and 3D scanning capability to EAC and the wider DLR (German Aerospace Centre) community. A highlight early on was scanning our new Australian Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, spending time with our previous collaborators on the Skinsuit, and seeing Andrea Boyd thriving at EAC in her new role. The new LUNA moon analogue testbed building was visited and looks incredible – it will allow for a hyper-realistic recreation of the Moon surface. We made several presentations to DLR also, touring EnviHab and other facilities as part of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine. Wonderful to be part of such a vibrant group of Australian space companies and scientists, and meeting so many new peers. Thank you to all involved!

Adam is a space science and physics honours graduate from RMIT with a keen interest in aerospace medicine and bioastronautics to enhance the health, safety, and performance of our space explorers and pioneers. He has worked alongside Human Aerospace researchers throughout his honours project to advance astronaut anthropometrics and further develop orthostatic intolerance garments used for spaceflight. This work provided exposure to the research and development of IVA countermeasure skinsuits, and his ambition is to continue making contributions to astronaut healthcare. Prior to Human Aerospace, he had the opportunity to work as a Citizen Scientist for the European Space Agency, where systematic reviews were conducted on the biological effects of radiation, as well as working as a Research Intern for Saber Astronautics on orbital collision manoeuvres. Adam is a student member of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine and the Australian Institute of Physics.

01 MAR 2024

We are proud to be selected as part of the latest Moon to Mars Supply Chain grants, under our project “Compression Garment and 3D Body Scanning Technology for Human Spaceflight”. This is a close collaboration with our NASA colleagues, with RMIT again an academic partner. The work will spin in commercial 3D body scanning technologies to space, supporting the design, development, and manufacturing of compression garments to counter orthostatic intolerance. New knowledge of space physiology and deconditioning will be enabled, with improved countermeasures for future missions to maintain astronaut health. New terrestrial medical applications will also be realised, further bolstering innovation and international supply chain opportunities for Artemis in particular.

https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/husic/media-releases/support-cutting-edge-aussie-space-projects)

Image Credit - ESA. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet (pictured right) wearing SkinSuit during the Proxima mission.

20 MAR 2023

Dr Tony Schiemer - Aerospace Medicine Physician. Lead, Operational Aviation

Tony is an Australian medical doctor, mechanical engineer and commercial pilot. He holds fellowships with the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Aerospace Medical Association.

He served for fourteen years with the Royal Australian Navy as a marine engineer and later, a general duties and aviation medical officer. Following transfer to the active reserves in 2019 he spent three years as a Senior Aviation Medical Officer (civilian contractor) to the RAAF Institute of Aviation Medicine.

28 FEB 2023

Congratulations to Abby Rudakov on the completion of her Master of Technology with High Distinction. Abby was supervised by James Waldie.

Her thesis “3D Body Scanning and Computer Modelling for Mechanical Counter Pressure Space Suit Development” modelled local pressure variations around the body to understand how pressure delivery changes over time as a result of body shape changes associated with space flight.

A trade study was also conducted to compare EVA gas pressure, MCP and hybrid suit architectures for their suitability for Mars EVA.

Prof Christian Gericke - Aerospace Neurology Consultant

Christian is a prominent neurologist and epileptologist with a distinguished career in both academia and military service. He currently serves as Director of Research at Calvary Mater Newcastle, Clinical Dean at the University of Newcastle, and holds a professorship at the University of Queensland School of Public Health. Previously, he held leadership roles at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane and various professorships in the UK and Australia.

Educated at the Free University of Berlin and with extensive international training, Professor Gericke has earned multiple advanced degrees including an MD in cognitive neurology, an MPH from the University of Cambridge, and an MBA from Deakin Business School. He is actively involved in international neurology organizations and serves in leadership positions such as Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists (ANZAN) Therapeutics Committee and has held roles in the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

01 FEB 2023

Space travel takes a huge toll on the human body. Human Aerospace has created a unique set of three IVA compression suits that can counteract the physical stresses of space – and do some important jobs on Earth as well.

• Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit applies Earth-like loading to help maintain bone mass.

• Orthostatic Intolerance Garment provides strong lower body compression to maintain blood flow to the brain and reduce fainting when landing.

• Sensorimotor suit helps stimulate proprioception and movement resistance, helping preserve normal balance and coordination.

• On Earth, the compression design has the potential to help treat medical conditions such as burns, lymphoedema, osteoporosis, and cerebral palsy, and support athletes with post-game recovery.

https://www.space.gov.au/spacesuits-preserving-human-health

18 AUG 2020

Human Aerospace is proud to announce commencement of a collaborative research program over the next two years: "Spacesuits for Preserving Human Health and Mobility". This project was successful in receiving grant funding from the Australian Space Agency’s International Space Investment: Expand Capability grant opportunity.

https://spaceaustralia.com/index.php/news/human-aerospace-designing-next-gen-spacesuits

Image Credit - ESA. Astronaut Andreas Mogensen wearing SkinSuit in the Destiny Laboratory during the IRISS mission.