New 'exosuit' with artificial muscles could help astronauts explore the moon and Mars

新型“外骨骼服”搭载人造肌肉，助力宇航员探索月球和火星

Generations of astronauts have spoken about how hard it is to move your limbs inside a spacesuit, where pressurization protects your body — but creates resistance.

历代宇航员都曾提及，在舱外进行活动时，在宇航服里移动是很困难的——虽然加压系统能保护人体，但也会产生运动时的阻力。

A new "exosuit," tested during a two-week space analog mission last month in Australia run by the Austrian Space Forum, hopes to change that. The garment, which is meant to be worn under a spacesuit, features artificial muscles to make it easier to move around while walking, either on the moon or Mars.

上个月，奥地利太空论坛在澳大利亚进行了为期两周的太空模拟任务，在此期间，科学家测试了一款全新的“外骨骼服装”，有望能改变这一现状。这件服装需要穿在宇航服内，服装中设计的人造肌肉结构能让穿着者的移动更加便利。

"The hope is that this technology could pave the way for future wearable robotic systems that enhance astronaut performance and reduce fatigue during extravehicular surface activities," Emanuele Pulvirenti, a research associate at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom who sewed the suit himself, said in a statement released Tuesday (Nov. 4).

英国布里斯托尔大学研究助理Emanuele Pulvirenti在周二（11月4日）发布的声明中表示，“希望这项技术能为未来的可穿戴机器人系统的发展铺平道路，提高宇航员在进行舱外活动时的作业表现，也减轻宇航员的疲惫感。”这款宇航服也是Pulvirenti亲自参与制造的。

Exosuit research is hardly new. For example, NASA led the creation of an "Iron Man"-type suit called the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton a little more than a decade ago, while Sarcos developed the prototype XOS exoskeleton for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (intended for testing with the U.S. Army) around 2007. New tech developments strive to make each exosuit generation stronger and lighter, but Pulvirenti also got inspiration from the past.

外骨骼服装研究并不新鲜。例如，美国宇航局在十多年前领导创造了一种名为X1机器人外骨骼的“钢铁侠”类型的宇航服，而Sarcos在2007年左右为国防高级研究计划局开发了原型XOS外骨骼（旨在与美国陆军进行测试）。新技术的发展致力于使每一代外骨骼服装都更加坚固，更加轻便。而Pulvirenti也从过去的例子中汲取了灵感。

Pulvirenti spoke with his grandmother, who is a tailor, as well as Vivo Hub colleagues at Bristol while developing the garment. The artificial muscles contained within reside in two layers: a nylon layer on the outside and a thermoplastic layer on the inside to make it airtight. Kevlar is used on the knee straps and waistband for tension resistance and strength.

在研发服装的过程中，Pulvirenti咨询了曾经做过裁缝的祖母，还与布里斯托尔大学的Vivo Hub的同事们进行了共同研讨。宇航服内的人造肌肉分为两层，外层为尼龙材料，为保证气密性，内层为热塑性材料；膝盖绑带和腰部则采用了凯夫拉纤维材料，兼具抗张力和韧性。

Pulvirenti then flew to Australia last month, garment in hand, to work at what researchers call the largest lunar environment analog in the Southern Hemisphere. The University of Adelaide and ICEE.Space co-hosted four analog astronauts from Oct. 9 to Oct. 22 at a facility nicknamed CRATER, short for "Covered Regolith Analogue Terrain for Experimental Research."

就在上个月，Pulvirenti带着这款宇航服飞往澳大利亚。他将在南半球最大的月球环境模拟基地开展测试。该基地名为“环形山”（CRATER，全称为“覆盖式月壤模拟地形实验研究设施”），由阿莱德大学和ICEE. Space公司联合主办。10月9日至10月22日期间，四名模拟宇航员在这里进行了测试任务。

CRATER is "a research testing environment that simulates conditions on the moon, including the unique lighting experienced during the course of a lunar day," John Culton, director of the University of Adelaide's Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, said in a statement about the analog mission. The mission saw the "astronauts" test spacesuits, habitats and research protocols.

阿德莱德大学安迪·托马斯太空资源中心主任约翰·库尔顿在一份关于模拟任务的声明中说：“CRATER是一个模拟月球条件的研究测试场，并且这个测试场也能还原月球白昼期间的独特光照条件。”在此次任务中，能够看到“宇航员们”进行的测试、栖息的环境及研究的协议。

Unlike many analog astronauts, who work with a small team on site, this group had global connections. A mission control in Austria served as a mission control not only for CRATER, but also for around 200 scientists in 25 countries who participated in the "World's Biggest Analog" — the largest simulation of its kind.

与许多在现场进行小型团队写作的模拟宇航员不同的是，这支团队拥有全球化的联系网络。奥地利的任务控制中心（CRATER）不仅提供了环形山基地，还与200名来自25个国家的科学家合作，共同参与这场“全球最大的模拟任务”，而这项模拟任务也是同类任务中规模最大的一个。

Mission managers are looking to add a new layer of professionalism to analog missions, which have been ongoing for decades, by introducing extra training, a requirement for publication and research on a more massive scale than ever before, the event website states.

活动网站称，这项模拟任务已经开展了数十年，此次任务的管理者希望通过增加额外培训、发表研究成果和扩大研究规模等方式，提高模拟任务的专业性。

In Australia, the analog astronauts focused on testing Pulvirenti's team's suit for comfort, mobility and biomechanical properties while walking, climbing and carrying items. While the tech is very early-stage, Pulvirenti added that he would love to see it tested on the International Space Station before the complex is expected to retire in late 2030.

在澳大利亚进行的测试中，模拟宇航员主要从舒适性、灵活性及生物力学性三个方面测试了Pulvirenti团队所研发的宇航服。虽然这项技术处于早起的研发阶段，但是Pulvirenti表示，他希望能在国际空间站2030年底彻底退役之前，对这件宇航服在太空站中进行测试。

In the meantime, he's targeting everyday use of the tech for folks with disabilities: "Our next goal is to create a hybrid suit that can switch between assistance and resistance modes as needed, which could be of great benefit for people in need of support with mobility, going through physical rehabilitation."

与此同时，他还计划将这项技术应用于日常生活中，用来帮助残疾人：“我们的下一个目标是研发一款由混合材料制成的服装。这种服装可根据需求提供帮助模式和阻力模式，为行动不便的康复期患者提供日常生活支持。”