In orbit, Shukla works on new space suit materials that may have spinoffs for sports, medical fields

High above the Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, along with his crew mates onboard the International Space Station (ISS), is working on developing new material for space suits that could also have spin-offs for high performance sportswear and medical garments.

“The crew led a technology demonstration for the Suit Fabric Study, a project that’s redefining how we think about clothing in space. This technology demonstration explores how garments influence heat transfer in environments where gravity and convection behave differently,” a post by Axiom Space detailing activities performed on July 2, said.

Axiom Space is the agency which is undertaking the 14-day mission to the ISS, of which Shukla is part of the 4-member crew, in collaboration with the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration and another private firm, SpaceX.

“By monitoring how both the body and fabric respond to exercise in microgravity, the study could revolutionise the design of future space suits. But the impact isn’t just beyond Earth’s atmosphere, this technology could also enhance thermal regulation in extreme environments on our home planet, from high-performance sportswear to medical garments that help manage body temperature in clinical settings,” the post added.

Space suits are a specialised set of garments that are critical for astronauts. They are made of multiple layers of special materials designed to protect them from the harsh conditions of space, including extreme temperatures, radiation and micrometeoroids,  technical literature on the subject states.

These materials include synthetic fabrics like nylon, spandex and neoprene, as well as more specialised materials like Kevlar and Mylar. Beta cloth, a fireproof Teflon-coated fiberglass, is also used for temperature regulation and protection. Besides protection, crew comfort, mobility and flexibility are also important design parameters.

Meanwhile, Shukla, who goes by the call-sign ‘Shux’, led a series of biological investigations, including the Space Micro Algae experiment to study how microgravity affects the growth and genetic behaviour of algae — organisms that could one day serve as sustainable sources of food, fuel or oxygen for long-duration space missions.

He also performed a microscopy to examine muscle cell development for the myogenesis study, which could lead to therapies for muscle degeneration both in space and on Earth. His work extended to documenting the Voyager Tardigrades experiment, which investigates how hardy microscopic creatures survive and reproduce in space. The findings could reveal new insights into the molecular mechanisms of cellular resilience which could translate into clinically relevant knowledge on Earth, Axiom Space said.

In another experiment, Shux and his crewmates lent their voices to the Voice in Space study, which investigates how spaceflight affects human speech. In the weightless environment, vocal patterns can shift due to changes in cognitive function and the absence of gravity’s influence on the body.

Using electroglottograph sensors and a series of scripted vocal tasks, researchers are analyzing how vocal fold vibrations and tonal qualities evolve on orbit. According to Axiom Space, the goal is to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to detect these subtle changes, potentially leading to new diagnostic tools for monitoring astronaut health while enhancing voice-based AI systems on Earth.