retroremakes
January 25th, 2010, 20:05
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2010/01/500x_constellation_suit.jpgWith all of the plans NASA has for the moon and Mars, it's about time they developed a suit that didn't make astronauts look and feel like Randy from A Christmas Story. Their new suit will increase flexibility and mobility.
Named "Constellation" after NASA's exploration program, the suit will be able to keep an astronaut alive for up to 150 hours. It will also have interchangeable components so the same arms, legs, boots, and helmets can be used with different suit torsos. Currently, astronauts have to wear two completely different suits: one for escape suit for launch and re-entry and another for working outside of the shuttle or ISS. The Constellation suit will retain much of the characteristics of the escape suit, but you can pop off the extremities and attach them onto a reinforced torso equipped with life support, electronics, and communication systems—even a computer that links directly back to Earth.
Increased freedom of movement for exploring lunar and martian surfaces comes from built in panels of material at the joints that keep the volume inside the suit constant while pressurized. The designers are also working on breathable materials for the suit to make it even more comfortable to wear. Assuming all goes to plan, the suits will be ready for flight in 2015—just in time for NASA to scrap or push back all of their missions to other planets. [Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24404/?ref=rss&a=f)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/UN0RFcb0sIg
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UN0RFcb0sIg/nasas-next-space-suit-offers-some-badly-needed-flexibility)
Named "Constellation" after NASA's exploration program, the suit will be able to keep an astronaut alive for up to 150 hours. It will also have interchangeable components so the same arms, legs, boots, and helmets can be used with different suit torsos. Currently, astronauts have to wear two completely different suits: one for escape suit for launch and re-entry and another for working outside of the shuttle or ISS. The Constellation suit will retain much of the characteristics of the escape suit, but you can pop off the extremities and attach them onto a reinforced torso equipped with life support, electronics, and communication systems—even a computer that links directly back to Earth.
Increased freedom of movement for exploring lunar and martian surfaces comes from built in panels of material at the joints that keep the volume inside the suit constant while pressurized. The designers are also working on breathable materials for the suit to make it even more comfortable to wear. Assuming all goes to plan, the suits will be ready for flight in 2015—just in time for NASA to scrap or push back all of their missions to other planets. [Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24404/?ref=rss&a=f)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=UN0RFcb0sIg:NJSyPPkhyKE:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/UN0RFcb0sIg
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UN0RFcb0sIg/nasas-next-space-suit-offers-some-badly-needed-flexibility)