![]() Back in the 1960’s, NASA began experimenting with a suit that was modeled on human skin, the result of which was the Space Activity Suit (SAS). Granted, Newman’s design is the first form-fitting spacesuit concept to see the light of day. We combine passive elastics with active materials. We want to achieve that same pressurization, but through mechanical counterpressure - applying the pressure directly to the skin, thus avoiding the gas pressure altogether. With conventional spacesuits, you’re essentially in a balloon of gas that’s providing you with the necessary one-third of an atmosphere to keep you alive in the vacuum of space. Speaking of the challenges of spacesuit design, and her team’s new concept for one, Dava Newman had the following to say in an interview with MIT news: Referred to as a “second skin” suit, the design incorporates flexible, lightweight material that is lined with “tiny, muscle-like coils.” ![]() The team is led by Dava Newman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT who previewed her Biosuit – playfully described by some as a “spidersuit” – at the TEDWomen event, held in San Fransisco in December of 2013. One such group hails from MIT, with a skin-tight design that’s sure to revolutionize the concept of spacesuits. Hence why a number of researchers and scientists are looking to create suits that are snugger, more flexible, and more ergonomic. But despite decades worth of innovation, the basic design remains the same – large, bulky, and limiting to the wearer’s range of movement. Spacesuits have come a long way from their humble origins in the 1960s. ![]()
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