Improvements to On-Orbit Sleeping Accommodations

United States On-Orbit Segment (USOS) crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are each furnished with a Crew Quarters that serves as their personal private space for the duration of their expedition. Within these quarters, crew members use sleeping bags to provide a comfortable environment that is conducive to sleeping in microgravity. Microgravity presents unique challenges to obtaining good sleep. Sleep position preferences which are influenced by gravity are disturbed when the feeling is absent while other environmental factors prevent the familiar feeling of lying in bed. NASA developed a new US Sleeping Bag for USOS crew members launching aboard United States Crewed Vehicles (USCVs), using this opportunity to improve upon the current sleeping bag design based on lessons learned from years of living and working in space. The US Sleeping Bag design was based on the current sleeping bag’s design with enhancements to key features based on feedback from crew members and sleep study experts at the Johnson Space Center and the Ames Research Center. Key areas of improvement include facilitating thermal comfort in the warm Crew Quarters environment, ease of maintenance when replacing the inner lining, allowing for maximum versatility for adjustment to crew preference, and adding features for additional functionality such as accommodations for a pillow. Two US Sleeping Bags have flown aboard the ISS to date, utilized by veteran crew members who have experience with the existing sleeping bags and have provided feedback and comparisons for assessment. Enabling good sleep is essential for crew member health and productivity, especially in longer duration expeditions. This paper will detail the challenges with sleeping in microgravity and the enhancements made in development of the US Sleeping Bag to provide a better on-orbit sleep environment.