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On Tuesday, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tried to make up for that zero-g fiasco by introducing a red, white, and-blue space suit that he says fits every human body “from the first percentile of women to the 99th percentile of men.”
The new suits will also protect astronauts against radiation, the moondust that penetrated the old suits and fouled their gear, and temperatures ranging from 250 degrees to minus–250 degrees Fahrenheit. While the synthetic fabrics of the new suits are similar to the material NASA has used since 1990, the new outfits have upgraded electronics, environmental filters, and pressure control systems. To fit any size astronaut, the new suit comes with modular components across the chest and waist that can be cinched or expanded.
“We need to learn to live and work on the surface of another world for long periods of time, and in order to do that we need space suits,” Bridenstine told a roomful of NASA employees, students, and reporters at NASA headquarters in Washington. While accommodating diverse body shapes was one factor influencing the design, so too was the goal of allowing astronauts to spend more time exploring, in greater comfort. “We are building space suits that will fit all of our astronauts,” he said.This week’s unveiling is the result of two years of design work by a team in Houston, and came out now because NASA says it needs to keep a production schedule moving if its going to make its 2024 launch deadline.
The new suits will be easier to take on and off. Instead of pulling on separate pieces for each arm and leg, astronauts will enter the suit from the rear, which is how Russian space suits are designed. Before blasting into orbit, astronauts will get a 3D full-body scan while performing motions they might expect to do during space walks. With this model, NASA can match the astronaut to the arm, leg, and torso components that will fit the best, reducing the itchy spots that can make life excruciating during a seven-hour walk outside.
New orange crew suits, designed for use inside a spacecraft, could help protect astronauts more effectively in emergency situations.
Photograph: Joel Kowsky/NASA