Canadian Mark Pathy will become the first private astronaut to wear the Astroskin smart fabric system in experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) next February.

He is one of four private astronauts taking part in the Ax-1 space mission, organised by Axiom Space, who are planning to travel on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The ten-day mission will include eight days inside the ISS to conduct research experiments on the effects of microgravity, chronic pain and sleep disturbances.

Pathy will take part in 12 science research projects in partnership with six Canadian universities and their investigators, including clinician-researchers at The Montreal Children’s Hospital and Child Health Research at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. He has been busy training at NASA Johnson Space Center ahead of the February launch and the crew will now embark on a further seventeen weeks of training to get ready for the mission.

Initially entirely funded by national space programmes, space exploration is gaining momentum with several private companies and individuals targeting it as the next frontier. Hexoskin has collaborated with the Canadian Space Agency since 2012 on space projects.

The company’s Astroskin seamlessly integrates several sensors in one portable smart system to continuously report vital signs remotely. Integrating a precise three-lead ECG and Body Inductance Plethysmography (RIP) sensors, Astroskin allows the ambulatory monitoring of the cardiac and lung function, previously only possible with bulky equipment available in laboratories. The Astroskin smart garment also integrates a portable pulse oximeter for continuous blood oxygen and blood pressure monitoring, a skin temperature sensor, and a three-axis activity sensor for activity and sleep monitoring.

Astroskin is currently the health monitoring tool of choice for the ISS participating countries for conducting health research in microgravity and remotely monitoring the vital signs of astronauts. Recently, Hexoskin announced the upcoming mission of Astronaut Kellie Gerardi, set to conduct research with Astroskin on board a Virgin Galactic Flight. Since Astroskin is already operational on board the ISS, new opportunities for private astronauts and space companies to use it for their training and during spaceflight are now opening up.

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