New Space Suits For Advanced Cosmic Ventures

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WASHINGTON (TIP): Nasa has developed a new gen-next spacesuit, for its advanced space ventures including the manned Mars mission, that can supply oxygen and protect the astronaut from extreme temperatures. The new space suit is called the “Z-1 Prototype Spacesuit and Portable Life Support System ( PLSS) 2.0”. Nasa’s current space suits, designed in 1992, were made for crews aboard the space shuttle fleet and those spending time at the International Space Station ( ISS). However, with the space shuttle fleet’s recent retirement and the country’s goals to go to Mars, an asteroid, and beyond, Nasa has recognized that it may be time to create more robust and technologically-equipped suits for astronauts. It is a rear-entry space suit that can do pretty much anything the actual spaceship does, from supplying oxygen , removing carbon dioxide , and protecting the astronaut from extreme heat or cold, the Daily Tech reported .

The suit is made up of many hard elements on top of its fabric, and becomes flexible when inflated. There is a hatch and life support pack on the back of the suit, wheich allows the astronaut to attach to the spacecraft or a rover.

It also has urethane-coated nylon and polyester layers to ‘maintain pressure’ and allows for greater flexibility in the limbs and torso. Astronauts get into the suit through a suitport, which is the combined hatch and life support pack. An airlock is not required to get in and out of the suit, meaning they can get in and out of the suit faster.

This is because the suit operates at the same pressure as the spacecraft. The suit also packs a water membrane evaporation cooler that cools it through the same method as sweating instead of current techniques , which consists of a sublimator that only works in a hard vacuum.

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