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‘SuperLimbs’ could help astronauts recover from falls

CNN
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MIT developing wearable robotic limbs to help astronauts recover from falls.

The ' SuperLimbs ' extend from a backpack containing astronauts’ life support system.

When the wearer falls over, an extra pair of limbs can extend out to help them stand, conserving energy for other tasks.

The 12 astronauts who moonwalked on Apollo missions fell 27 times.

After that, he’s going to turn his attention to figuring out how the limbs can leverage tools to help with tasks like excavation, sample handling, and construction. “I want it to become almost like a natural extension of their bodies so the astronaut almost feels awkward not having them,” he said. In the future, he hopes the extra limbs will become the new normal. “My goal is to make these arms become almost like the new paradigm for astronauts,” he said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com .