A bodysuit has been invented by an Australian aerospace engineer to reduce the debilitating physical effects that astronauts experience during space flights. RMIT University alumnus, Dr James Waldie, led the team that made SkinSuit, which was recently worn by an astronaut inside the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time.

The skin-tight suit was worn by Denmark’s first astronaut, Andreas Mogensen, who spent 10 days in the ISS last month to test the space gear's effectiveness in weightless conditions. SkinSuit was inspired by the striking bodysuit that former Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman wore at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Waldie and his collaborators have spent more than 15 years getting the suit into space.

When in space, astronauts can lose up to 2 percent bone mass per month. Their spines can also stretch by up to 7 centimetres, with most suffering mild to severe pain. Astronauts also have four times the risk of herniated discs compared with the general population.

Made with bidirectional elastics, SkinSuit has been designed to mimic the impact of gravity on the body. The suit can impose a gradual increase in vertical load from the wearer’s shoulders to their feet, simulating the loading regime normally imposed by bodyweight while on earth.

For the ISS flight, the European Space Agency (ESA) wanted to know if the suit could counteract the effects of spaceflight on the spine. “We believe if we can reduce spinal elongation in space, we can reduce the stress on the intervertebral discs. This should help with pain in-flight, and the chances of slipped discs post-flight,” Waldie said.

Before being selected for the ISS mission, the suit had undergone rigorous ground and parabolic flight trials and had to pass a spaceflight qualification programme. “Seeing live video of Andreas wearing SkinSuit on board the ISS was thrilling - I felt an enormous sense of achievement that my concept was finally in orbit,” Waldie said.

As the inventor and a principal investigator, Waldie went to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany for the first on-orbit trial. SkinSuit was made by Waldie in collaboration with scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kings College London and the ESA. It was manufactured by Italian firm Dainese, best known for producing motorbike leathers for racing.

Mogensen tested SkinSuit over two days as part of an Operational and Technical Evaluation, taking frequent height measurements, comfort and mobility surveys and skin swabs for hygiene assessments. He has returned to Earth but is yet to publicly report his findings.

Waldie, meanwhile, spent more time at ESA with his collaborators to work on further design, sizing and manufacturing refinements for SkinSuit. His RMIT colleagues, Arun Vijayan and Associate Professor Lijing Wang from the School of Fashion and Textiles, also worked with him on the project.

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