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A new 'Biosuit' under development to allow greater freedom of movement in Space
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Space suits have been around for a while now. The first full pressure-suits designed for use at extreme altitudes appeared as early as the 1930s, and the first space suit used by a human in space was the Russian made SK-1 worn by Yuri Gargarin in 1961.
However, these hugely expensive pieces of equipment (reportedly $12 million for a NASA suit) come with all manner of difficulties that warrant continuing research in order to improve their usability, while ensuring the safety of the astronaut inside.
These are complicated devices that need to address numerous different issues such as overcoming pressurization and movement problems; protecting against not only extreme heat and cold, but also against radiation; providing adequate oxygen whilst removing excess products of respiration such as carbon dioxide and water vapour; giving protection to the eyes from the harmful rays of the Sun; enabling effective oral communication to take place; and incorporating facilities for temporarily storing body waste products.
Research and development continues to find a new space suit for the future – one in particular that will give astronauts more flexibility when working outside their spacecraft in reduced or microgravity environments – and hence, the continuing development of the ‘Biosuit’.
Click this link if you want to read more about how the research is going by the NASA team in conjunction with scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
However, these hugely expensive pieces of equipment (reportedly $12 million for a NASA suit) come with all manner of difficulties that warrant continuing research in order to improve their usability, while ensuring the safety of the astronaut inside.
These are complicated devices that need to address numerous different issues such as overcoming pressurization and movement problems; protecting against not only extreme heat and cold, but also against radiation; providing adequate oxygen whilst removing excess products of respiration such as carbon dioxide and water vapour; giving protection to the eyes from the harmful rays of the Sun; enabling effective oral communication to take place; and incorporating facilities for temporarily storing body waste products.
Research and development continues to find a new space suit for the future – one in particular that will give astronauts more flexibility when working outside their spacecraft in reduced or microgravity environments – and hence, the continuing development of the ‘Biosuit’.
Click this link if you want to read more about how the research is going by the NASA team in conjunction with scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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