According to the latest news, NASA has planned to develop a space dust repeller and AR headset for astronauts to make the lives of NASA astronauts easier.
Recently, NASA handpicked three projects from the Rhode Island School of Design to back up and utilize the projects in future space explorations. Rhode Island School of Design club submitted several projects to the BIG Idea Challenge and surprisingly NASA didn’t choose just one but as many as three projects.
The first project is that of a space dust repeller. Space dust which is also known as regolith has the potential to damage astronaut suits and equipment along with lungs. TEST-RAD will help to keep dust away from astronauts’ bodies. It is made of densely packed fibres. It produces a charge which rejects the regolith.
As of now, designers and engineers will work on this device remotely. They will test it first on objects that could be taken in outer space.
This means, before its finalization, the space dust repeller has to prove its efficiency on things like camera lenses and battery covers. According to the members of the Rhode Island School of Design club, they believe, TEST-RAD might even prove its usefulness on the Earth itself, especially in places like mines where workers’ health is at high risk.
An augmented reality headset is another eye-catching project proposed by the Rhode Island School of Design club.
The augmented reality headset’s purpose is to project data, maps, and other vital info on the astronaut’s helmet in real-time. This way, the user would have a larger sense of independence and could easily see things like oxygen levels, map indications, and more.
NASA will get the first proposal drafts by this autumn. Do share your thoughts about this innovation in the comment section below!
