ARC ANGEL Reduces Gravity’s Effect on Arms

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) have developed an Earthbound robotic training system called “ARGOS” for short. It can actively simulate an astronaut’s weightlessness in space by using an overhead runway and bridge drive system to partially or fully offload their weight using attached cables, effectively suspending them off the ground. Although the test subject’s torso and legs are offloaded, their arms and any weighty hand tools are not.