The space suits astronauts wear today are marvels of engineering, but theyre far from perfect. For one thing, theyre unwieldy. At a weight of nearly 300 pounds, astronauts have to expend a huge amount of energy just to move them around. It was great for 45 years ago, but we can do better, says Dava Newman. <\/p>\n
Newman, an MIT aerospace engineer who was recently nominated for the role of NASA deputy administrator, is working on next-generation suits that would give astronauts far greater mobilitythe type of equipment that would be instrumental to a manned mission to Mars. At WIRED by Design, Newman and her partner Gui Trotti showed off one such concept. Dubbed the BioSuit, it would replace todays bulky gas-pressurized get-ups with a form-fitting soft exoskeleton. <\/p>\n
By tapping advanced materials and relying on a mathematically-informed fit, the BioSuit could someday allow astronauts to explore the solar system with unprecedented freedom. As Newman puts it: It is literally a second-skin suit. <\/p>\n
For more on WIRED by Design, visit live.wired.com. <\/p>\n
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Aerospace Gurus Show Off a Fancy Space Suit Made for Mars<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The space suits astronauts wear today are marvels of engineering, but theyre far from perfect. Continue reading