Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratory's NASA-funded Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) uses a new spacesuit technology to create a sort of artificial gravity that provides astronauts with a sense of up and down while helping relieve some of the detrimental effects of weightlessness.

In classic science fiction, zero gravity is treated like the rolling deck of a sailing ship; an annoying thing that travelers have to get used to. In reality, it's an environment that humans aren't designed for. Not only is it hard to tell up from down, but the lack of gravity also produces muscle and bone loss, and affects vision, the immune system, the heart, and a number of other body functions.

Draper's V2Suit technology is designed to alleviate some of these problems by simulating gravity on a personal scale. It uses gyroscopes linked to sensors and an inertial measurement unit to provide realistic, variable resistance to body movements by astronauts, giving them a sense of gravity.