NASA's Versatile New Spacesuit

Image Source: Gizmag

 Space

NASA is developing a new spacesuit suitable for the moon, the planet Mars, or an asteroid. The Z-1 prototype spacesuit is designed for versatility. The design is called a “rear-entry space suit” made up of a combination of several hard elements mounted on a suit of fabric that’s flexible when uninflated.

Due to the fact the agency does not clearly have a plan of what the next major manned missons will be, NASA is building a do-it-all spacesuit that could handle a trip to the moon, Mars, or an asteroid.

"It's like you're trying to go on vacation, but you don't know if you're going to Antarctica, Miami, or Buckingham Palace," says Amy Ross, a spacesuit engineer at Johnson Space Center. The Z-1 prototype—currently being tested in a vacuum chamber—has been designed for versatility: to explore alien surfaces, float outside a space station, and even weather the radiation of deep space. "We're building a lot of tools for the toolbox," Ross says. "Right now we're asked to be very flexible."

The current U.S. space suit used by NASA was designed in 1992, and it was only ever intended to be used by crews aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). Now, with eyes turning increasingly toward missions to the Moon, Mars and the asteroids, space explorers need something better. For that reason NASA is designing its first new suit in twenty years.

Developed by NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES), the Z-1 prototype space suit currently undergoing vacuum testing at the Johnson Space Center is a wearable laboratory of new technology.

Image Source: Popular Mechanics

1. PORT  Astronauts step into the full suit through the back port. This port will mate with the spacecraft, enabling an astronaut to enter the suit from inside the craft for extravehicular activity. Another advantage: When used in low to no atmosphere, the port conserves more air than a conventional air lock. 

2. MOBILITY  The Z-1 has bearings at the waist, hips, upper legs, and ankles to allow an astronaut greater mobility—essential for retrieving soil and rock samples in tough terrain. 

3. MATERIAL  This provisional outer covering conceals a heavily engineered inner suit; a layer of urethane-coated nylon retains air, and a polyester layer allows the suit to hold its shape. 

NASA has some competition when it comes to spacesuits.  Final Frontier Design is currently running a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign to finance development of its own spacesuit design. The suit will be built to conform to the standards of NASA flight certification, and will feature operation for higher operating pressure, a carbon fiber waist ring, a retractable helmet, and improved gloves and glove disconnects.


SOURCE  Gizmag

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