What will astronauts wear on Mars and the Moon?

Nearly 60 years have elapsed since a man's first flight to the cosmos, and not only space technologies but also space suits to protect astronauts from outdoor adventures have improved considerably. Nobody wants the blood in his veins to turn into gas before he can say anything about small steps for man and big steps for man.

the beginnings

NASA's first space suit was developed for the Mercury project. His goal was to bring Americans to earth orbit and ensure their return to life and good health. The first cosmonauts really struggled with them and it took them several years to eliminate the defects of thermoregulation: their wetsuits sweated alternately, they froze completely and were unable to sleep. The second generation of space suits has been developed for the Gemini project. They had to be considerably more resilient because they were getting ready to allow them to climb into the open space. The third generation costumes have already been designed for those who were about to conquer the Apollo Moon.

They had to allow enough freedom of movement to not only walk but also bend and take samples. Directly on the body, the astronauts wore a water-cooled nylon shell, a multi-layered space suit. The bottom layer was lightweight nylon with ventilation holes, a nylon coated neoprene to protect the lower layers. Next are five layers of aluminized mylar intertwined with four layers of additional dacron material. The two-layer capton insulation has taken care of the heat retention. This was followed by a non-flammable Teflon-coated fabric preventing mechanical damage, and the last layer was a pure white Teflon. The Americans in this suit walked softly on the surface of the moon. Although weighing 111 kilograms with oxygen reserves, it did not mean much in weightlessness.

Another type of spacesuit had to be developed for shuttles. While almost all previous costumes were silver or white, this time they chose an atypical orange. They simply called it "pumpkin space suit". This should protect the crew, especially in case of failure of starting or landing.

Freedom of movement

Today, NASA is testing new combinations in its Advanced Spacesuit and Technology Labe, which is expected to weigh only half, and most importantly, allow carriers to have almost complete freedom of movement. This is a fundamental requirement for their new generation. Until now, the first tests have been made with prototypes known as the Z series. In terms of design, they will certainly not be conservative, but not too aesthetic.

Mark

Private companies are more interested in the aesthetics of space suits. They should be designed not only for astronauts, but also for space tourists who are willing to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a trip into the universe. Therefore, such a trip must look like a show and the spatial combinations – in this case, the space suits – must match. Virgin Galactic Millionaire Richard Branson has it all simple: the tours he's planning are suborbital, the tourists will stay in the spaceship all the time, so they will not need any pressurized space suits. It was enough to associate them with the brand Under Armor, which would design their first collection of spaces. Suggestions at the time of writing this article are not yet known, but both companies plan to present them this year.

under pressure

Boeing and SpaceX are facing a more complex task. The two have reached an agreement with NASA that their modules will not only provide the ISS space station, but will also carry astronauts. None of them even tested the crew module. Specifically, SpaceX, a few weeks ago with no actual crew, was a success, but it exploded in other tests that took place after his unhindered return to Earth. However, both companies are developing new types of pressurized space suits for their crew modules, which must meet NASA's most stringent safety standards.

The space suits that they develop must be able to protect passengers during interplanetary flights, but they are not designed to protect them from extreme conditions such as those that occur on the surface of Mars. This is why "held" suits designed to move on the surface are large and bulky. They must contain air that exerts sufficient pressure on the body to function and protects it from the risk of vacuum.

High tech infatuation

Scientists led by Aerospace Engineering Professor Dave J. Newman have viewed the problem from a different angle. They decided to use state-of-the-art materials to create a superelastic combination able to exert pressure on the muscles. The advantage of such a solution is unequivocal: in case of mechanical damage caused to a pressurized space suit, its wearer exposes himself to a risk of death, he has to go to safety the most early possible in the landing module or the spacecraft. In case of mechanical damage to the elastic combination, simply repair a special adhesive tape and continue to move on the surface.

It is not easy to develop such a suit because it must fit perfectly to the body and all its folds. The prototype, which was fully functional, was already completed in 2013. Its development continues, but it looks more like more classic combinations, similar to those used today by astronauts to launch into the space open from the international space. space station.