The humble smartwatch is now helping astronauts in space 

The four-person crew (made up of two men and two women) will spend up to five days in orbit, hoping to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown, at 1400km (870 miles). They will also attempt the first ever commercial spacewalk.  

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is supporting health and biomedical research during the mission.  

One aspect of this research involves the use of Garmin fenix 7 smart watches to continuously track each crew member’s vital signs during the mission. The watch will allow researchers to track a wide range of data, including heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, stress, and breathing. It also tracks calories burned, and the intensity of the activity as the crew go about their tasks, potentially offering lots of information for researchers to use when the crew returns to Earth. 

Studies of the effects of space on the human body have been going on for more than 50 years, but there is still much more to find out. Muscle loss, bone problems, and harmful effects of radiation, including increased risk of cataracts, are some of the known effects of being in space. Only a minority of astronauts have been women, so much less is known about how women’s bodies react to being in space.  

Jimmy Wu, TRISH senior biomedical engineer, said: “The trove of biometric data provided by Garmin fenix smartwatches will allow us to better understand how the body adjusts to being in space.  

“Once collected, this physiological data will be added to TRISH’s EXPAND database, aiding current and future research to study and understand human health and performance for all future human space exploration missions.”  

If the idea of having the same sports watch as an astronaut appeals to you, the fenix 7 has a RRP of £599.99 for the standard edition, and £689.99 for the solar-powered version. It uses no less than three satellite systems for navigation – GPS, GLONASS and Galileo (put simply, you should find it hard to get lost). 

The use of these smartwatches is just one aspect of the Polaris Dawn project.  Other planned experiments include wearing a contact lens embedded with microelectronics, to monitor changes in the shape and pressure of the eye, and studying how the body processes common medicines while in orbit.