A while back Nasa released online images of the prototype space suit for the first manned mission to Mars. The final version of the "Z-2" suit - picked by public vote at the beginning of May - is a development of the original "Z-1" design (2012; first image in this post).
The suit should incorporate 3D printed panels, in this way, thanks to 3D laser scanners, it would be possible to customise each suit to fit perfectlythe various members of the team. Shoulder and hip joints, exposed rotating bearings and collapsing pleats should instead improve mobility.
On the outside the suit is decorated with glowing geometric designs made with Luminex wire and light-emitting patches that can be personalised to help astronauts identify crew members during spacewalks.
Elements of the suit may or may not be used by the first astronauts visiting Mars as the "Z-2" suit is actually a prototype and does not have the ability to fend off the extreme temperatures and radiation of a flight into space. NASA will indeed have to carry out comfort, durability, mobility and performance tests in November in a vacuum chamber to mimic the lack of atmosphere in space.
The design was the result of a public vote and it won over two other designs - the "biomimicry" option inspired by the world's oceans and the "trends in society" suit, inspired by every day clothes and sportswear in particular.
Most features published about the "Z-2" focused on the luminescent elements on the front of the suit. It would have actually been more interesting to discover further details about the internal part of the suit to understand which high-performance materials may be used to protect and shield astronauts from high temperatures and harmful radiation while guaranteeing flexibility, simplicity and reliability.
Spacesuits are indeed extremely complex pieces that also have to take into account water purification, air circulation, power, communications and propulsion, and for these reasons they are also heavy, uncomfortable and restrictive.
The Apollo 8 Space suit worn by William Anders (1968) featured for example a multilayered fabric with teflon as outer material. The different sections of the suit were particularly interesting: the Apollo EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) suit had a liquid-cooled undergarment against the skin followed by a layer of lightweight heat-resistant nomex, a gas-tight bladder of neoprene-coated nylon and a nylon restraint layer to prevent the bladder from ballooning outwards.
Thermal and micrometeroid protection was provided by a neoprene-coated nylon ripstop layer, alternating layers of perforated aluminised mylar film and non-woven dacron, two layers of super kapton and outer layers of beta cloth and teflon fabric.
The shuttle space suit also featured another interesting series of eleven layers - the Liquid Cooling Ventilation Garment (LCVG; 2 layers for astronaut comfort), the pressure retention garment (2 layers; for containment of the breathing air), and the Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG; 7 layers; for protection against micrometeoroids and insulating the extreme temperatures of space).
Hopefully, we will soon discover more about the internal part of the "Z-2" suit, its layers and the technologies behind them and - who knows - maybe one day NASA will even turn again to a fashion designer to create the logo for a space mission.
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