Up to now, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to satisfy stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But lately, that has all been changing.
In September 2024, two non-professional astronauts accomplished the first privately funded spacewalk, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft built by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Meanwhile, Houston-based private company Axiom Space is conducting regular flights to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying a mix of government-funded astronauts and paying customers.
In the previous couple of years, nearly 100 people have grow to be private astronauts through the space tourism corporations Blue Origin, operated by Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic, by Sir Richard Branson. While the value of a seat on these vehicles stays out of reach for many of us, prices are expected to drop as more players enter the market.
Despite the rapid growth within the variety of space travellers, underrepresented population groups are still left behind, particularly those with disabilities. So how can space agencies and “space tourism” corporations make spaceflight more inclusive for disabled astronauts?
Related: Para-astronaut John McFall hopes to see an ISS astronaut with a disability fly by 2030 (exclusive, video)
The European Space Agency (Esa) recently recruited John McFall, who lost his right leg aged 19, because the world’s first disabled astronaut. McFall, who’s a surgeon and former paralympic sprinter, will take part in a feasibility study to enhance understanding of, and overcome, the barriers that spaceflight presents for astronauts with physical disabilities.
Esa’s most up-to-date collection of astronauts was entirely of white European background, showing how far things still must go. But its move to recruit McFall marked a big milestone towards a more inclusive approach to spaceflight.
Designing effective systems for the inclusion of disabled people is a longstanding challenge on Earth – and space presents an entire latest paradigm. The very specific demands of spaceflight mean we will’t assume that traditional adjustments and assistive technology will work beyond Earth’s atmosphere. So, making spaceflight more inclusive requires taking a look at each step of going into space.
Astronaut training is a fancy process, designed to simulate the space environment and enable candidates to perform well under quite a lot of conditions they could encounter in orbit. But in lots of cases, the training facilities usually are not well designed for people with physical or sensory impairments.
For instance, as a way to get on the plane that flies in an arc to simulate microgravity (colloquially known as the “vomit comet”), astronauts must climb a set of stairs, which presents a hurdle to anyone with a mobility impairment. Satirically, impairments that restrict the usage of stairs on Earth is perhaps much less of a restriction once in space.
Spacecraft and space suit design might be one other key focus. The space suits onboard the ISS were originally designed with male astronauts in mind, meaning that female astronauts must “make do” with what’s there. This has caused challenges because the variety of female astronauts has risen.
In 2019, NASA needed to postpone the first all-female spacewalk since the torso of an area suit was too large for one in all the spacewalkers. The Moon suit developed by Axiom Space in collaboration with Italian fashion house Prada is a step towards inclusivity, with anthropomorphic sizing to accommodate a wide selection of crew members. Yet, future disabled astronauts might still encounter challenges in the event that they have differences of their limbs or impairments to their dexterity.
Interestingly, the brand new SpaceX Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits have something called “embedded modularity” – each section of the suit is customised to the intended astronaut, and all sections fit together. While intended to assist with joint positioning, these suits present a novel opportunity to support disabled astronauts with limb differences.
Inclusive suits could include a single fixed leg portion for people with paralysis, and removable parts for those with limb differences. Haptic gloves could provide tactile feedback through the space suit for astronauts with limb differences.
For people with visual impairments, incorporating augmented reality (AR) heads-up displays (transparent displays that show the user data overlaid over their environment) and AI-powered image-to-voice software that may translate purely visual information into audio explanations could make an enormous difference.
Technological support much like the app “Be My Eyes”, pairing sighted assistants with visually impaired people to assist explain their environment, could also find uses in spacesuits.
Thriving in space
An often ignored a part of astronaut life is maintaining physical fitness through intensive exercise regimes. Exercise is required because each muscle and bone waste away quickly in microgravity – however the fitness equipment aboard the ISS, similar to the treadmill and bike, is difficult to adapt for disabled people. Each require use of each feet to operate.
Re-engineering the systems for exercise, eating, working, going to the bathroom and other essential activities is critical for enabling disabled astronauts to thrive in space.
Assistive technologies that may very well be used inside a spacecraft, versus inside a spacesuit, are continually evolving and taking many forms. As such, there are at all times opportunities to enhance the environment on an area mission to make it more inclusive for disabled astronauts.
Examples could include virtual reality (VR) to be used in ground training, smart prosthetics that enable the completion of complex tasks, and computer vision with AI guiding visually impaired astronauts.
Policies implemented by space agencies have traditionally been exclusionary, focusing on able-bodied individuals and ignoring the potential of those that are different. And while some space agencies are establishing advisory committees and promoting diversity, this work is usually limited to narrow purposes inside these agencies.
Despite the UK and lots of other countries having specific laws to cut back discrimination within the workplace, the international nature of the space sector may cause difficulty. Because of this, policies mandating inclusion and equity across the space sector are crucial. Most significantly, space agencies should ensure adequate funding and resources to support any inclusion initiatives and work with disability advocacy groups.
Often, the foundation causes of inclusion barriers are a lack of information or awareness of disabilities. In lots of cases, consulting and involving disabled people in decision-making processes reduces these barriers. It is crucial the space sector recruits individuals from diverse backgrounds to start with.
Although the concept of “diversity quotas” has historically been divisive, the primary place to start out is to grasp the variety each of current and potential space travelers. Publicizing diversity statistics can assist hold agencies accountable, and encourage initiatives aimed toward greater inclusion.
There stays quite a bit to do, but with a collaborative approach, the brand new business space race could act as a shining example to the remaining of the world in its approach to disability.
