Estimated Muscle Loads During Squat Exercise in Microgravity Conditions

Loss of muscle mass in microgravity is one of the primary factors limiting long-term space flight [1]. NASA researchers have developed a number of exercise devices to address this problem. The most recent is the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) [2], which is currently used by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to emulate typical free-weight exercises in microgravity. ARED exercise on the ISS is intended to reproduce Earth-level muscle loads, but the actual muscle loads produced remain unknown as they cannot currently be measured directly.