Published on January 22, 2018
For future human spaceflight missions beyond Low Earth Orbit, NASA must invent a lighter, more compact device that will allow astronauts to meet their aerobic and resistive exercise needs for long-duration flights. The Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2) was designed and produced in less than a calendar year at a fraction of the cost of traditional processes to meet those needs. The MED-2 weighs in at under 6% the mass of ARED, the resistive exercise device currently aboard the International Space Station, while also including aerobic exercise capabilities. The MED-2 is scheduled to launch to the space station on March 22 aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle.
