MIT Team Designs a New, Sleek, Skintight Spacesuit

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 16, 2007 @09:46AM from the spandex-makes-a-comeback dept.

iamdrscience writes "MIT aeronautics professor Dava Newman has designed a new spacesuit along with her colleague, Jeff Hoffman and a group of students. This is far sleeker and lighter weight than the suits used by astronauts today, promising greater mobility than the traditional bulky suits of today which can weigh 300lbs or more. Instead of gas pressurization, the new prototype BioSuit employs "mechanical counter-pressure" in the form of skin-tight layers wrapped around the body."
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/biosuit-0716.html

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Two thoughts... by tgd · 2007-07-16 09:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

One, how are they going to keep the astronaut warm/cool in it.

Two, they talk about how its safer if it gets punctured because the hole can just be patched without affecting the rest of the suit. How are you going to puncture it in a way that doesn't puncture, you know... you? Even if the suit doesn't depressurize, it can't be good for your cardiovascular system to have a gaping wound exposed to vacuum or micropressures.