SuperLimbs for astronauts

It’s hard not to laugh at NASA’s blooper reel of astronauts falling and bouncing in slow motion on the moon. But coping with inertia where gravity is one-sixth that of Earth is no laughing matter when you’re wearing a constricting space suit and need to finish an exhausting task. So mechanical engineering professor Harry Asada (center) and colleagues are developing wearable robotic limbs to help astronauts get back on their feet after a fall. Based on the “SuperLimbs” Asada designed to assist construction workers and ship builders...