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REAL LIFE NEWS: REVOLUTIONARY NEW SPACESUIT DESIGN

by Hazed

Spacesuits used by astronauts on the ISS are huge, cumbersome things that make it incredibly hard to move around or to carry out tasks. Isn't it about time somebody came up with a better design? That's what Dava Newman from MIT wants to do. She and her team of researchers have just unveiled a prototype called the BioSuit which is sleek and clingy and could allow astronauts to be agile in space. It looks sexy, too!

The new suit is made of an elastic, skintight material. It's lightweight enough that astronauts can walk, run or even scale mountains on the surface of a moon or planet - things that they couldn't possibly do while wearing today's monstrosities.

The point of a spacesuit is to protect the wearing against the vacuum in space. Today's spacesuits use gas pressurization - they create a small Earth-like atmosphere inside the suit, which exerts the appropriate pressure on the astronaut's body. This is why the suits are bulky, and they come with a life support system that weights almost 300 lbs. Estimates show that astronauts typically end up expending about 70% to 80% of their energy just moving around in the suit.

The form-fitting suit works by creating "mechanical counter pressure" which does the same job, simply by wrapping layers of specially patterned nylon and Spandex tightly around the body. When it's done properly, according to maps of the wearer's body in motion, it creates a mobile, skeleton-like shell that protects and supports the astronaut. Each suit has to be tailored to the individual wearer because it's like a second skin.

Another advantage of the suit is that the level of resistance it provides will help the body maintain muscle mass, since astronauts lose about 40% of their brawn during space travel. This aspect also points towards Earth-bound applications, such as a tool for athletes to use during training.

There's a lot of work still to be done on the design, to increase the counter pressure the suit can produce, but Newman estimates that it could be ready in ten years, just in time for the next round of manned missions to Mars and other moons.

Take a look at a picture of the sexy new space bodysuit here: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1646046,00.html?cnn=yes.

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