The ISS T-shirt, a project to monitor stress levels using a new thermodynamic metric, is one of 14 experiments selected by the Czech Ministry of Transport for the International Space Station (ISS).
“This project represents a significant step forward in the field of astronaut health and it also strengthens Masaryk University’s position in international research and technological innovation,” said Julie Dobrovolná, head of the Integrative Physiology research group within the Health in Motion research programme at the MU Faculty of Sports Studies.
The project involves the development and validation of a smart T-shirt with integrated sensors that monitor physiological parameters in real time and assess the “stress entropic load” – a new thermodynamic indicator of the stress load on the body. This approach is based on original research carried out at Masaryk University and has the potential to be widely applied not only in space, but also in medicine and in other fields here on Earth.
“If Aleš Svoboda gets selected to fly to the ISS, he will have the opportunity to wear our T-shirt, because astronauts often go to the space station to pursue their own scientific projects. When Major Svoboda, who is a Czech Air Force pilot, became a backup member of the astronaut corps, he approached Czech universities and asked them for projects to support,” Dobrovolná explained. With this vision in mind, a consortium of universities called CAERPIN (Czech Aerospace Research Institute) was formed, bringing together Czech educational and research institutions: Masaryk University, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brno University of Technology, Technical University of Ostrava and the University of Defence.
CAERPIN is also part of the long-term programme Česká cesta do vesmíru (Czech Road to Space), which aims to open the door to cutting-edge space research for Czech science and industry. As the principal investigator, Masaryk University is implementing a prestigious European Space Agency (ESA) project focused on innovative stress monitoring of astronauts during short-term missions to the International Space Station.
“The Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University has been systematically engaged in long-term research in the field of monitoring astronaut physiology and health. Participation in the International Space Station project is a new challenge that we welcome and see as a natural extension of our existing activities. It is a testament to the excellence of our teams and a confirmation of the soundness of our long-term strategy. Entering the field of space exploration is an extraordinary opportunity that we fully support, opening up new perspectives for science, innovation and international cooperation,” said Jan Cacek, Dean of the Faculty of Sports Studies.
Other project participants include the Technical University of Ostrava (VŠB-TUO), EGMEDICAL, s.r.o. and G.L. Electronic, s.r.o., while the overall implementation is coordinated by Masaryk University with the support of ESA.
The list of recommended experiments, together with a number of additional conditions, will be sent by the Ministry of Transport to ESA, which will then enter into discussions with the project proposers with a view to concluding contracts for their implementation by early summer. Some of the projects are expected to reach the ISS before the start of Czech astronaut Aleš Svoboda’s mission at the end of 2027, while others will go into space with him. However, everything that goes up has to fit into about 50 litres of volume and 15 kilograms of weight, so it is likely that the recommended projects will not be implemented exactly as proposed. Many projects will undergo major changes during the preparations with ESA due to various physical, technical, operational and safety constraints.