Skintight spacesuits may give future astronauts a more
flexible - not to mention stylish - way to explore the moon and Mars.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) are edging closer to a spaceworthy astronaut garment that replaces the
bulky traits of current, gas-pressurized versions with flexibility
and mobility. Dubbed BioSuit, the spacesuit design relies on mechanical
counter pressure rather than the stiff pressurized vessels employed by
astronauts in space today.
"You can't do much bending of the arms or legs in that
type of suit," said Dava Newman, an MIT professor of aeronautics and
astronauts leading the research, of current spacesuits used in Earth orbit.
Newman and colleague Jeffrey Hoffman, a former NASA
astronaut and spacewalker, have been working with students and the design firm
Trotti and Associates for seven years to build a viable BioSuit.
A current prototype
of the suit consistently exerts pressures of about 20 kilopascals on its
wearer but newer models have reached pressures of up to 25 to 30 kilopascals,
which is about one-third that of the Earth's atmosphere and the target for
spaceworthy BioSuit, researchers said. A fully functional suit could be made
ready for spaceflight in about 10 years, they added.
At the heart of the BioSuit is mechanical counter pressure,
which uses tightly wrapped layers of material that are both flexible and
protective to the astronaut inside. The suit's layers are wrapped in a
meticulous fashion -- based on three-dimensional maps of the human body in
motion -- to provide structural support while maintaining mobility, researchers
said.
NASA's current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)
spacesuits, as well as their Russian Orlan counterparts, surround their
astronaut wearers in a stiff, pressurized vessel containing breathable air.
Added outer layers of material, as well as a backpack-mounted life support
system, can further restrict the spacesuit's mobility and require astronauts to
spend the bulk of their energy fighting their own garments while toiling in
space.
Both the EMU
and Orlan spacesuits are designed for work in Earth orbit, not for use on
planetary surfaces like those of the Moon or Mars, where walking -- not
floating -- will be key.
"We really must design for greater mobility and enhanced
human and robotic capability," Newman said.
Newman hopes the BioSuits could be tailored to offer varying
levels of resistance to their wearers for use as exercise garments for
astronauts on long flights to Mars, as well as athletes and those requiring aid
to walk on Earth.
The promise of mechanical counter pressure space garments
has not missed NASA's eye.
In early May, the U.S. space agency offered up a $50,000
cash prize for anyone capable of demonstrating a homebuilt version of a
spacesuit glove using the technology during its Astronaut Glove Challenge. While the $50,000 prize went
unclaimed for lack of entrants and was rolled over to 2008, a $200,000 purse
for a more conventional space glove went to Maine engineer Peter Homer.
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