NASA astronauts are living and working on the International Space Station and the agency is preparing for Artemis missions to the Moon, with an eye toward future crewed Mars missions, all places with different gravity environments. NASA has selected five winners for a challenge launched in July seeking ideas for a common system critical to astronaut safety for handrails, foot holds, steps, and ladders, among others, that can apply to any gravity field from Earth to Mars.
The challenge – Common Restraints and Mobility Aid System for Gravity Environments – sought ideas for a common system that would help bolster astronauts’ mobility and safety when maneuvering around different environments and work in four gravity environments, including in microgravity in low-Earth orbit, one-sixth gravity at the Moon, three-eighths gravity at Mars, and in the one g environment on Earth where astronauts train for missions.
A total of $7,000 was awarded to the top five ideas:
- First Place: “Daedalus Project” by abner.gomez-2
- Second Place: “Restraint Chair and Folding Ladder” by aniruddha.nayak-1
- Third Place: “Gecko Feet Shoes” by azer.tim-1
- Fourth Place: “Integrated Slot and Cleat RAM System” by whit-3
- Fifth Place: “Multipurpose Peg and Rail System” by trevor.tietgen-1
“The challenge submissions are very valuable to our efforts to develop common systems that can be used in a variety of environments,” said Dr. Robert Howard, a leader of the Center for Design and Space Architecture at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “There are elements in the winning ideas that can be extracted and combined to form a multi-gravity restraints and mobility aids system. I was awed and thrilled that the challenge gave people around the world who are not affiliated with NASA an opportunity to apply their own creativity to human spaceflight.”
The challenge was part of NASA’s Common Habitat efforts, an exploratory design study seeking to develop a single habitat that could function on the Moon, Mars, Earth, and in microgravity. Properly designed and placed restraint and mobility aid systems are key components of the Common Habitat.
The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes and Challenges program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, managed the challenge. The program supports the use of public competitions and crowdsourcing as tools to advance NASA research and development and other mission needs.
Learn more about opportunities to participate in your space program via NASA prizes and challenges: