HANS device tested for astronauts

What do HANS device inventor Dr. Robert Hubbard, NASA and NASCAR have in common? [Editor's Note: The HANS Device was first used by Champ Car and IndyCar but you would think NASCAR invented it. Typical.] All three are collaborating in an effort to improve crash restraints for astronauts. The first series of crash sled tests was recently undertaken at Wright Patterson Air Force Base using a dummy fitted with a prototype restraint for use during NASA launches and landings. Dustin Gohmert of the Crew and Thermal Systems Division of NASA directed the tests. The new head restraint resulted from a collaboration first undertaken in 2008 at Texas Motor Speedway, where officials from NASA's Johnson Space Center and Hubbard met with NASCAR officials to discuss the use of the sanctioning body's data base for assessing crash injury dynamics. NASCAR subsequently provided data taken from recorders in race vehicles, which facilitates the development of injury criteria for astronauts by using computer modeling in conjunction with the real world experience from NASCAR competition. The prototype HANS-type head restraint for astronauts is comprised of a round collar and yoke made from carbon fiber. The helmet and neck ring of the space suit fit to the round collar and yoke, a single unit to be held in place by an astronaut's shoulder belts. NASCAR