The Astronaut's New Clothes

Metox writes: "An article posted on www.sciam.com gives a glimpse into the future of space clothing for use in hostile environments, Earth orbit, Mars, etc. Of all the facts in the article, the one I found most interesting is that the current EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) suit is an astonishing 24 years old. However, the article gives a good reason for this. As the EVA suit is used in a microgravity environment, mobility isn't as important, and dexterity can be enhanced by simple changes to the arms and hands. The article highlights the current tests of two new EVA/Mars contenders, the I-Suit and the H-Suit."

Comments

Re:skin tight suits

[Stephen Samuel]

We're not going into combat situations here. Skin tight mobility might be nice, but it's not entirely necessary. It's also unlikely, since insulation is more valuable. Having lived in Edmonton, where it sometimes goes down to -40 in mid winter, I wouldn't care much about a skin-tight suit in a hostile environment. You can get very usable mobility with a few layers of clothing. It's a bit bulky and slows you down a bit, but not enough to be bothersome.

The one place where dexterity is really valuable is in the hands. Most people have no problems with a nice bulky (warm) parka, but you can pay big bucks for a really good pair of thin gloves that still keep your hands warm.

Ceramic heaters?

[2nd Post!]

I'd think, in space and such, with a proper insulative suit, the problem isn't generating heat, because the human body does that okay... it's shedding excess heat!

The human body, unfortunately, doesn't cool down by radiating in the IR range; it cools down via evaporation of sweat.

So in a skintight suit, the sweat would pool and collect into a thin puddle under the suit and heat would start to build up pretty quickly, I think.

I have no idea how the Dune stillsuits conquered that problem...

old == reliable

[Trailer Trash]

the one I found most interesting is that the current EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) suit is an astonishing 24 years old

On the other hand, nobody has died or been injured in the last 24 years because of their suit. There's something to be said for that kind of reliability.