Scientists Design Next-Generation Space Suit for Improved Planetary Travel

It has been reported that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with NASA has designed a next-generation space suit for improved planetary travel.

Flexible BioSuit is space suit that will help astronauts make comfortable movements as compared to bulky and clunky suits of the past generation.

Dava Newman, a Professor of astronautics and aeronautics at MIT, said the old-school space suits provided astronauts with nearly one-third atmospheric pressure through which they could easily survive in the vacuum of space.

The latest BioSuit will provide astronauts same facility but in an efficient way, said Dava. Elaborating more on the BioSuit design, he stated that BioSuit will apply the same amount of pressure but with a direct contact with the skin by merging the use of passive elastic and active materials. It is a type of plastic, which can be easily molded, is very light weighted and can easily take the shape of the body that makes the whole process very flexible.

Apart from allowing better performance in space exploration, Dava stressed on other important functions of the BioSuit, including increased safety of astronauts and improved ability to survive in harsh and changeable weather conditions in space.

Newman said, "An integrated suit is exciting to think about to enhance human performance. We're trying to keep our astronauts alive, safe, and mobile, but these designs are not just for use in space".

Bradley Holschuh, a member of MIT laboratory team, is responsible for developing the space suit's shrinking coil system technology, which he said is a "tourniquet system". Bradley affirmed that tourniquet system can cut off the circulation of blood to an extremity, if in case the person wearing the suit is bleeding or injured.

Science
NASA
MIT