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The Evolution of Space Suit Design
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..."
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.
Tight-fitting suits may mean that astronauts are more likely to get turned on, resulting in all kinds of mayham and soap operas. Space can get lonely. Maybe the baggy look is better afterall.
Table-ized A.I.
...
shudder
Who the heck the designed that page?
This article contains material on spacesuit evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of spacesuits. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.
A thin layer of biomaterial may be sufficient for protecting you from the vacuum of space if they get around the engineering considerations, but I for one would not want a "second skin" as my only protection from radiation and cosmic rays.
This is a consideration particularly where there is no atmosphere absorbing any of it before it gets to you (eg the moon and Earth orbit). The Earth also has its magnetic field helping shield us.
Also consider that the thinnner and lighter a material is the more likely a rip becomes. That one rip will easily end your life. You'd need to incorporate a system self repair of small holes and tears - perhaps a gluey substance that seals under pressure.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Just because he announced a plan doesn't mean anything. NASA isn't getting the funding(it needs massive increasesm not cutbacks) to actually DO any of the things talked about.
If you read official NASA stuff, you will find that the space suits are there to keep the guys warm in the cold of space. That is total BS. Put a self warming thing in a perfect insulator and what happens? It gets hot. It turns out that since the Russians haven't figured out how to make peltier effect space suits, that many of the details of the Apollo era suits are still secret. Even some of the details of early astronaut almost dying from dehydrating in their suits haven't been released
One of the other things is that your blood will boil or explode in space. Thats not true either. All thats needed to protect the skin is a thin layer of something like a cheap wet suit. There have been studies that show thick rubber gloves would work fine for the pressure if there was a way to get rid of the sweat.
The real mechanical problem is keeping the head protected along with proper containment of everything the body is trying to get rid of.
Of course the real problem is all that radiation.
When did George Bush start posting to Slashdot?
it clear we aren't going anywhere other than perhaps Iran or some other third-world country
Hmmmm.....
Iran:
(image)
Mars:
(image)
I sense a conspiracy in the making...
People said I was dumb, but I proved them.
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
Especially as an unscrupulous person could do this: http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/i mg_display.php?pic=h_astronaut_djn_02.jpg&cap=The+ glove+is+sensititive+enough+to+permit+kinky+sexual +activities.+Once+completed+the+soiled+glove+can+b e+easily+removed+for+hygenic+disposal.+Artwork%3A+ Cam+Brensiger
Human skin is actually a surprisingly strong pressure barrier. The conterpressure suit can be an open weave with up to millimeter sized openings. The biggest problem is figuring out how to keep pressure on the concave areas such as under the arms and behind the knees. An advantage of counterpressure suits is that a tear in the suit doesn't result in catastrophic pressure loss. It only causes injury to the area of the tear. Another problem with them is getting them on and off. It would be like putting super tight pantyhose over your whole body. (not that I know anything about that)
- 2311.pdf
Here are some papers on counterpressure suits:
http://mvl.mit.edu/EVA/BioSuitDJN_Nov03.pdf
http://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/publications/ICES02
http://mvl.mit.edu/EVA/NIACPhaseIReport.pdf
If by "horrible", you mean "life threatening", then I don't know about that. But if by "horrible" you mean, "the utter agony upon removal of the suit when every single hair on your body is ripped out one by one", then yes, I agree completely.