MEISSA
Modernizing EVAs for ISS Astronauts
Overview of the MEISSA Project
The astronaut suit technology used today for EVAs is equipped with inconvenient and inefficient user-interfaces. When checking suit metrics and instruction manuals, astronauts must rely on wrist booklets and mirrors. The goal of MEISSA was to use modern augmented reality technology to improve how astronauts communicate with their tasks, ground support crew, and biometric data during a spacewalk. The heads-up-display includes a mission clock, tasks which can be shuffled through using voice commands, suit and astronaut health metrics, a QR scanner, and warning signs which inform the astronaut of any anomalies. The astronaut is only able to see information pertinent to the EVA, such as the astronaut's health or the suit status. With colour coded information levels, and simple hand/voice gestures to interact with the system, the astronauts can easily work with the system without inhibiting them from their current task. This system was tested with EVA specialists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.