Polaris Dawn space mission picks Garmin smartwatches for space-bound crew

Garmin smartwatches will play an important role in an upcoming Polaris Dawn human spaceflight.

Garmin’s premium Fenix 7 will help scientists understand how space travel affects the human body (Garmin)

A fan of science and technology? Awed by the space missions the kind that are being run by NASA, ESA, ISRO, Roscosmos and more? Well, then you must check out this space tech gadget. Did you know that Garmin smartwatches will play an important role in an upcoming Polaris Dawn human spaceflight? Yes, now you know. The smartwatch, with its highly accurate health data gleaned from Fenix 7 adventure watches, will provide 24/7 insights into the impact of space travel on the human body. The program consists of up to three human spaceflight missions that will demonstrate new technologies, conduct extensive research and ultimately culminate in the first flight of SpaceX's Starship with humans on board.

During the up to five-day mission to be launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, researchers will continuously monitor and collect crew members' biometrics such as heart rate, pulse oximetry, and sleep patterns-all on a single battery charge.

“Garmin is honored to be a part of this exciting research effort that will advance the understanding of how the human body adapts to the rigors of space flight. The exceptional battery life of our smartwatches will allow researchers the opportunity to continuously monitor all four crew members while awake and at rest over the five-day mission—with no down time needed to recharge the battery,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of Global Sales.

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine is supporting health and biomedical research aboard the historic Polaris Dawn mission, which will attempt to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown with humans and complete the first-ever commercial spacewalk.

Notably, the Polaris Dawn crew and the TRISH team chose Garmin smartwatches for the mission because of their long battery life, rugged durability and extensive suite of all-day health monitoring features.

“The trove of biometric data provided by Garmin Fenix smartwatches will allow us to better understand how the body adjusts to being in space,” said Jimmy Wu, TRISH senior biomedical engineer. “Once collected, this physiological data will be added to TRISH's EXPAND database, aiding current and future research to study and understand human health and performance for all future human space exploration missions.”

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn crew aboard a Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida later in 2023.