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The European Space Agency writes to say

◾The applicant must have the normal range of motion and functionality in all joints.

Historically, IMHO, astronauts came from a flight/test-pilot background. Physical fitness may have been mandatory for orbital flight, and for the lunar programme. It may even be necessary for any missions that involve actually landing on a body exhibiting significant gravitational attraction.

NASA and other Space Agencies have similar physical mobility requirements from their astronauts.

Wikipedia writes to say

What began as the selection of military fighter and test pilots in the 1960s, with a considerable focus on physical capability, has evolved into a selection that now selects for aptitude in engineering, sciences, life sciences, and mathematics

Say instead the astronaut is headed to the ISS where she/he is expected to be in free-fall most of the time. A person with a reduced range of motion (I'm specifically of the mind of restricted movement of the lower-limb) might actually be better suited for free-fall - as long as other physical, social, mental health parameters are met. About the only time I imagine full-range of motion in the lower-limb/s might be necessary would be at launch/landing.

I've never been an astronaut, or even close to medicine let alone space-medicine so I may be wrong. Feel free to poke me in the rib if my premise is flawed!

  • Do astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) actually use their legs? (Goes without saying they're in Earth orbit since they are aboard the ISS)
  • Is the physical fitness requirement that an astronaut prove full-range of mobility in all limbs relevant to astronauts headed to the ISS, or low-gravity bodies such as Phobos/asteroids?
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    $\begingroup$ Interesting question. I wonder if a double-leg amputee might actually be more mobile in microgravity than a person with legs. $\endgroup$
    – Philipp
    Oct 14, 2013 at 8:43
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    $\begingroup$ @Philipp: My motivation precisely (+: $\endgroup$
    – Everyone
    Oct 14, 2013 at 8:55
  • $\begingroup$ @Thomas Why not? I would of course never suggest to ampute healthy legs of an astronaut, but why not send an already disabled mission-specialist up there (provided they are qualified and fulfill all other physical requirements)? It could make sense both for scientific reasons and as a great example for integration of disabled people. $\endgroup$
    – Philipp
    Oct 14, 2013 at 14:05
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    $\begingroup$ Couple things to keep in mind when riding this train of thought; first, emergency procedures, such as a hasty exit from the craft while in the atmosphere, typically require the ability to run and jump, neither of which is at the top of the abilities list for a double amputee. Second, while the lack of legs might be an advantage in micro-gravity if planned for, everyone who's ever been to space has had all four limbs, and so all the equipment, from space suits to sleeping bags to exercise equipment, is designed accordingly. $\endgroup$
    – KeithS
    Oct 14, 2013 at 21:56
  • $\begingroup$ @KeithS: The first part of your comment was the reason for the question on cross-training space.stackexchange.com/questions/2405/…. With reasonably clear separation of mission specialists from flight crew, it becomes possible to plan for mission specialists with limited motion in the lower limbs. The other concerns you mention about procedures & equipment are relevant; I'd like to focus this question on mobility though (+: It would be great if you could build your comment into an answer $\endgroup$
    – Everyone
    Oct 15, 2013 at 4:35

4 Answers 4

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Yes, astronauts do use their legs.

In weightlessness, any movement you make (even tiny things like pressing a button) will push you in the opposite direction. At many workstations, footholds are provided. The astronauts use the footholds to hold themselves in place, so they can use both hands for the work they're doing instead of continually needing one hand for stationkeeping.

Photos of footholds being used
Another photo
Chris Hadfield demonstrating use of footholds in his music video

When the robotic arms are used during a spacewalk, the astronaut is generally attached to the arm by his boots. lots of photos

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  • $\begingroup$ TY That helps; albeit foot-holds may be convenient, and moot. Can you expand the answer a little more please? To try to cover the other question, if possible? $\endgroup$
    – Everyone
    Oct 17, 2013 at 19:06
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I would love to see/hear about amputees in space, first off. Gives hope to all of us who are not the NORM...

However, you would still need the ability to move around the ship without bouncing into controls and knocking into others aboard. In my mind that means the ability to use your legs full range of motion to kick off or slow your momentum down in addition to the use of hands/arms.

What if you need to move a sensitive electronic from one side of ISS to the other? I'm sure there are all sorts of things that could come up where having a fully agile individual is needed to deal with the problem. Saying that however, if we put a few NASA heads together we could come up with solutions to most anything that would arise... and I do imagine that in the future amputees will be as useful and indispensable as any other crew memeber.

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  • $\begingroup$ (+: Welcome to the site! I might be wrong, but at-least part of your concern may be mitigated by due caution; IMHO the adage 'Look before you leap' is nowhere more true than in free-fall. Hopefully a team of experienced personnel could come up with a set of recommendations for most concerns though ... $\endgroup$
    – Everyone
    Oct 16, 2013 at 3:06
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    $\begingroup$ +1 and it might be interesting to point out that the Robonaut 2 still doesn't have its own functioning legs and is useful onboard the ISS nonetheless. It might get legs come the end of this year, tho. Legs, while of course useful as two additional limbs one can push with against any other surface, are not that essential in microgravity and I'm as well surprised there wasn't any astronaut with impaired leg function yet onboard it. It is not that hard for a physically fit amputee to push against surfaces with the torso, or against fixed prosthetics. $\endgroup$
    – TildalWave
    Oct 16, 2013 at 10:24
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It is worth noting that in the 2021 recruitment process, ESA is also looking for astronauts with physical disabilities, including:

  • Persons who have a lower limb deficiency (e.g. due to amputation or congenital limb deficiency) as follows:
    • single or double foot deficiency through ankle
    • single or double leg deficiency below the knee
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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for the update (y) $\endgroup$
    – Everyone
    Apr 26, 2022 at 11:53
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Do astronauts use their legs in Space?

Yes, astronauts use their legs daily as they have to work out about 2 hours a day to combat bone loss and other negative health effects that microgravity has on the body. To my knowledge they have to always use their legs for this as astronauts have to use their legs on all exercise devices that I know of aboard the ISS (ARED, Tredmill 2, CEVIS). Furthermore, they use their legs to "hold on" to footholds and occasionally use them to push themselves gently off something in the station to move around the ISS. But these last two examples can hardly be called a usage of their legs as they require very little effort.

Is this a relevant criteria?

Sort of. Because your legs and their joints are currently very much required to function well to do exercise abort the ISS. However, ESA is currently selecting (as of July 2022) astronauts with certain disabilities, which also includes lower limb deficiencies. With their Parastronaut Feasibility Project they will probably be able to resolve the exercising issue and also make space more accessible for people with disabilities.

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