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It may not be the most fashion-forward footwear you've seen, but these bizarre sandals could help save an astronaut body from deteriorating.

Developed by Nasa, a pair was today sent to the International Space Station in the hope of better understanding of how heavy loads can damage an astronauts' bones. 

The ForceShoe sandals act as a high tech measurement system working in tandem with the ISS's Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (Ared).

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Dubbed the ForceShoe, the sandals act as a high tech measurement system and working in tandem with the ISS's Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (Ared). Developed by Nasa, a pair was today sent to the International Space Station in the hope of gaining a better understanding of how heavy loads damage an astronauts' bones

Andrea Hanson, an ISS exercise hardware specialist, demonstrates the use of the ForceShoe on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device

Ared helps the astronauts perform weight-bearing exercise to maintain bone and muscle mass while in microgravity.

'Ared is a sophisticated exercise device,' said Andrea Hanson, ISS exercise hardware specialist.

'Although it has helped Nasa provide better health outcomes for crew members, there is still progress to be made in understanding the effects of exercise on bone and muscle health, and the ForceShoe will help us do that.'

Using the ForceShoe, researchers will measure exercise loads and ground reaction forces on an astronaut.

These are the forces supplied by the ground to a body in contact with it. The device measures force in three axes: up and down, side-to-side and front-to-back.

It also captures the torque, or twisting force, applied under foot during an Ared exercise.

'We are eager to understand how joint forces may be different between exercise performed on the ground and in space, and force shoe technology might help us do this in future investigations,' said Mr Hanson.

Improving researchers' understanding of exercise performance in microgravity will help create better space workouts that improve bone and muscle strength.

Researchers will ask two to four crew members to collect static load and dynamic exercise data while wearing the shoes, which look like high-tech sandals.

During the static load test, crew members will be asked to set the Ared to provide specific loads in the same way they would set loads on a weightlifting machine at the gym.

Could this shoe help to save Astronauts' skeletons in space?

They will then lift the exercise bar and stand still on Ared while the shoes collect data.

They will also perform dynamic exercises included squats, deadlifts and bicep curls.

As crew members perform these exercises, the ForceShoe, which acts like an enhanced bathroom scale that measures loads applied downward as well as during front-to-back and side-to-side movements.

Data will be transmitted via Bluetooth technology to computers on the space station and researchers on Earth will receive this data a couple of days later.

'As we prepare for future missions to asteroids, Mars and beyond, we need to think about minimising and miniaturising equipment because spacecraft will be smaller,' said Mr Hanson.

'The ForceShoe is a great example of the way we can shrink some of our research tools for future missions.'

Lessons learned from exercise performed during long duration missions in microgravity can also be directly applied to populations here on Earth.

For instance, the results could be used to help people who have restricted movement due to injury, ageing, busy lifestyles, or confined work and living spaces.

During the static load test, crew members will be asked to set the Ared to provide specific loads in the same way they would set loads on a weightlifting machine at the gym. Jaxa astronaut Koichi Wakata is pictured here working out on Ared