16. March 2009

Monday, 16th of March 2009, the Aouda Critical Design Review II took place in the University of Innsbruck. Aouda is part of the PolAres programme and is developed in cooperation between the University of Innsbruck and four Tyrolean high schools.

„Aouda“ is not a real spacesuit, which can be used in space or on the Martian surface. It is a so called “Analogue-Space Suit”. It helps to simulate realistic tests of the requirements of humans landing on Mars. The space suit is only the prototype: It consists of the Hard-Upper-Torso (a solid, non-flexible armour for the upper body) as the main element. The suit weighs 45kg. Several remarkable features make Aouda on of the best suits for analogue mars research: It has a thermo electrical cooling, broadband-wireless communication device, an experimental human-machine-interface which employs gesture and voice control and full medical telemetries. It can be used up to several hours, both in a desert at temperatures around +50°C and the arctic at -25°C. The outer hull is a special skin using Panox-Kevlar coated with aluminium. This material has excellent astrobiological properties. To simulate the environment on Mars, the suit uses an exoskeleton which was developed especially for this use. This enables a realistic „on Mars“ experience. Such realism is needed to train optimally on Earth.

A few chosen parts of the prototype are developed by experts from the Austrian Space Forum, the Institute of Astro- and Particle Physics of the University of Innsbruck together with the following schools:

•  HBLA Weingartnerstrasse (Ferrarischule): Design of outer hull, gloves, speciality boots and thermal underwear.
• HTL Fulpmes: Development of the solid components (life support rucksack, helmet system, flanges) as well as a pressure simulation system (mechanical exoskeleton) and the concept of air condition and liquid cooling systems.
• HTL Anichstrasse: Designing the On-Board-Data Handling (OBDH, Computer), the human-machine interface and the energy support.
• BRG Imst: Visualisation of the telemetry (Radio data transfer) fort he mission control centre (Software-Project).