MIT Works On Mars Space Suit

An anonymous reader writes in with a story about MIT's work on space suits to be used by Mars astronauts. "When we send the first humans to Mars we will need to get the most scientific data in the smallest amount of time while not exhausting our astronauts in the process. Dava J. Newman has been working on a 'biosuit' that's designed to do just that....Dava’s suit would be a huge leap forward in terms of construction as well. They’ve enlisted the expertise of Dainese, an Italian manufacturer of motorcycle racing 'leathers'—leather and carbon-fiber suits designed to protect racers traveling at up to 200 mph. The suit would be a degree safer than current space suits. While a puncture or scrape in a traditional space suit would cause a dramatic decrease in pressure and would be traumatic, even deadly, the 'biosuit' could be patched with a high-tech ace bandage. The wearer would wrap it around the punctured area to stop the leak almost instantly. Pressure loss would be minimal and the astronaut would be able to continue working and finish his or her task. "

Comments

Major issue with space suits ...

[PPH]

... is the need to maintain sufficient internal pressure to sustain human life without being too stiff to work in for long periods. Suits made more skin tight are the current area of research. That seems to be what MIT is working on.

I'd like to see some work along the lines of a smart G suit type garment that can sense the occupant's movements and compensate by reshaping itself dynamically. Probably something based on artificial muscle fibers rather than compressed air.