[ETL]

NASA and independent researchers are working to design new and improved spacesuits for the next gen-
eration of off-Earth travelers. Credit: NASA

Dava Newman dons the Biosuit spacesuit design on Henry Moore's
sculpture "Reclining Figure" on the MIT campus.
Credit: Donna Coveney/MIT.

[Sirius Lee]

I honestly thought we had already worked this out.

Or maybe it was the Brits.

[RightGeek]

[csvset]

[DannyTN]

[DannyTN]

[G-Bear]

Uh-oh......my buttons have been pushed.......

I hate to burst this young lady’s bubble, but REAL spacesuits are going to continue to look pretty much like the current ones. Those sexy skin-tight 1950’s spacesuits WON’T WORK!

These people look at a SCUBA divers wet suit, and think that a spacesuit should look like that. But the two problems are exactly opposite.

The SCUBA diver is going into a HIGH pressure environment, and his air regulator is going to give him air at the same pressure as the surrounding water. With no pressure differential, the diver can breathe normally.

The astronaut is going into a LOW pressure environment. As long as his chest is inside the pressurized “can”, he can also breathe normally. But if he tries to put on a skin-tight suit, and is breathing space-craft normal air (pure O2 at 5psi) when he steps into vacuum, his lungs will explode. This would be painful.......

Another problem I always see, not only with Hollywood spacesuits, but with NASA’s planned Mars suit, is that you can’t see your feet. And you are going to go stroll about on a surface covered with loose rocks of various sizes. This will not go well....

I think at least two of the Apollo astronauts managed to fall down on the Moon. Mars would be worse. Hope they send plenty of spare plastic bubbles for those helmets. At least that way, they can salvage the suit......

After cleaning it out.