ABSTRACT
From the photos of the American astronaut Shannon Lucid, it could be observed that she looked much younger without the gravitational field acting on the muscles of her face. Facial aging is a biological phenomenon but the facial movement of the skin during aging is also due to mechanics. The present research is a first step in identifying the mechanical forces responsible for facial deformation owing to time. With the use of a Nonlinear Finite Elements formulation in a facial mask with the mechanical properties of the skin, it was possible to discuss the effects of gravity in the mechanics of facial aging. A strong correlation between the effects of gravity and the behavior of the aging parameters of our recent work was found.
