Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Evolution of Space Suit Design

Posted by samzenpus on from the spray-on-pants dept.

William_Lee writes "According to space.com, it looks like we may finally be on the verge of seeing a long overdue, radical redesign of space suits that will result in much lighter, more maneuverable, custom fitted suits. Now if we can actually get around to sending someone to Mars..."

1 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. About time.. by jmcmunn · · Score: 5, Interesting


    I was actually just watching an IMAX Nasa special the other day and was shocked to hear that the current space suits weigh in at almost 250lbs!! I know that without gravity, it doesn't matter how much you weigh, but the bulk in those suits seriously made it hard for the astronauts to do their job at times.

    A new "second skin" version of the suit would certainly make it easier on the astronauts, and would free up a ton of space for hauling more cargo up there as well.

    On a side note, Nasa was testing this cool 100ft solar array in the movie, which when folded up fit into a 7 inch tall box! It was pretty cool.