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NASA's First New Spacesuit In 20 Years Is Its Own Airlock
Zothecula writes "The current U.S. space suit used by NASA is a dinosaur. Designed in 1992, it was only ever intended to be used by crews aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). That may have been good enough in the days of 14 kps modems, but with eyes turning increasingly toward missions to the Moon, Mars and the asteroids, space explorers need something better. That's why 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. And it's a hatchback."
and beyond!
20 years old and it is a dinosaur? You young'ins are obsessed with the Shiny.
It doesn't seem that way. These suits can act a higher pressure which allows them to dock to the spacecraft in the first place. So they must be sturdier.
Also, it's not like when the suit leaves that the ship is exposed to space. There must be an additional "hatch" that is closed around the suit opening to allow it to leave.
So when docked you have the structural integrity of the suit itself (life support backpack plus suit plus helmet) and the structural integrity of the "hatch" that is not mentioned.
It's not a full blown traditional airlock because there is not a separate space that has to have the pressure equalized before you can enter the space craft. In a way it is a mini-airlock because you will still need to equalize that small space in between the hatch and the suit.
The greatest advantage to this is speed. No pre-breathing and cycle time in a big airlock. You could be out in space in minutes it sounds like, or less.
Shouldn't that be the hatchback of Notre-dame?
To infinity and beyond! (Is it just me, or have they actually built Buzz Lightyear?)
You also avoid tracking anything that gets onto the suit into the vehicle with these things. The Apollo crews can tell you how big a deal that is for a mission of any duration, and it looks like Mars dust is if anything worse.
Because governments spend money to make things that do not generate profit. Thats one of the reason FOR a government. It is not a business. It is for the public good. This space suit will not generate money, it will generate science. Knowledge. You know, things that we are beneficial for mankind, yet make no money on their own. A corporation would be sued by its share holders for doing something like that. Unless it had a clear profit motive.
The "space companies" will be sending satellites into orbit (or tourists), not going to Mars. They will be in it for the money. When WE, as a PEOPLE, want to go to another planet, we need a government to do it.
Manned space exploration isn't funded because we need to. It is funded because we want to. It is basically a fancier version of the Blue Angels. Mars rovers can look as unaesthetic as you want. But an astronaut, who theoretically could be fighting giant octopuses and pirates in space needs to look right. NASA should really talk to Blizzard or Bioware about how to make astronauts look like Space Marines.
a few Anglo-Saxon guys pocket the rest of the cash.
Oh, them. That's the Beowulf cluster you've heard tell of.
No no no, we're talking about a spacesuit here. :P