Out-of-this-world fashion with function: clothing or accessories for earth or space wear!

Every space traveler – even the robotic ones – should feel? their very best during the journey, infused with the very best data and technology available. Earthlings can follow suit. Design a space data-tech-fashion wearable in the form of clothing or accessories that will collect or distribute data and technology in the following categories:

Design for Interconnectivity (staying more connected to team, community, and tools)

• enhance the work/life experience of humans and/or capabilities of robots  

Design for Health (biometrics, physical and emotional health, and/or environmental alerts)

• maintain or improve the health and well-being of the human
• provide early warning for unhealthy environmental factors (air quality, radiation, outgassing, temperature)

Design for Entertainment (sights, sounds, music, activity)

• enhance the human experience whether during work or play

Advanced electronics are a problem in space due to the density of the chips. The more circuitry in smaller electronic components, the greater the susceptibility to cosmic radiation. The best solution is radiation-hardened processers that are not affected by fluctuations in radiation levels to bring space-usable tech up to par with cool Earth tech.

Wearables help astronauts onboard the International Space Station monitor heart rates and breathing patterns, and collects data to investigate whether changes in heart activity are related to a problem, such as poor sleep quality. Fabrics can be infused with technology to provide perspective on multiple investigations, such as respiration, body acceleration, skin temperature, and more.

For example, NASA is using wearables to monitor personal Carbon Dioxide (CO2) on orbit. Excessive CO2 causes headaches, dizziness, and blood pressure spikes. Even with scrubbing technology on Station, pockets of CO2 can go undetected in the space environment. The personal CO2 monitors an astronaut’s immediate surroundings.

Have fun with the possibilities. Create fashion to sport your version of spacey data-tech receivers/transmitters, and fashion your own data dashboard to analyze/visualize the output. Design for connectivity, health, entertainment or all three. Wear your solution to ensure your inner space geek has an external expression.