New Mars Forums

Mars suits need advanced mobility, durability (dust/temp), and life support for equipment work, moving beyond bulky gas-filled suits to designs like SpaceX's agile EVA suit or concepts like the tight BioSuit, focusing on enhanced joints, integrated HUDs, and specialized materials (Orthofabric) to allow astronauts to perform complex tasks efficiently in Mars' low gravity and harsh dust. NASA's Z-series prototypes, Axiom suits, and material tests (SHERLOC) are all pushing for lighter, more agile, and reliable suits for exploration and maintenance.
Key Design Features for Mars Work:
Enhanced Mobility: Improved joint designs (like those in SpaceX's suit) and lighter materials to counter Mars' lower gravity and allow complex arm/hand movements for tool use.
Dust Protection: Highly resistant materials (e.g., Teflon, Orthofabric) to block pervasive Martian dust, a major issue for equipment.
Integrated Technology: Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) in helmets (like SpaceX's) for real-time data and easier task management.
Adjustability & Fit: Sizing features (adjustable shoulders/waist) to fit diverse astronauts and improve comfort for long work periods.
Durability: Built for millions of wear cycles, far exceeding lunar needs, using advanced composites and materials tested on the Perseverance rover.
Examples of Suit Concepts:
SpaceX EVA Suit: Evolved from Dragon IVA, focusing on agility, 3D-printed helmets, advanced thermal layers for extreme temps, and scalability.
NASA Z-2/Z-series: Prototypes emphasizing wide motion, docking, and lightweight composites, tested in extreme environments.
BioSuit: A tight, stretchy suit applying pressure directly to the skin, offering more natural movement than gas-pressurized suits.
Axiom Suits: Next-gen designs for NASA, focusing on broad adjustability, comfort, and modern tech for complex tasks.
Challenges & Solutions:
Bulky vs. Agile: Moving from bulky gas-filled suits (like Apollo's) to designs that don't hinder simple tasks like tightening a bolt.
Life Support: Developing efficient systems for heat rejection (like Swimmie) and ensuring extended survival in case of minor punctures.
Material Science: Ongoing tests (SHERLOC experiment) on various materials to find the best protection against Mars' unique environment

Mars spacesuit risk management focuses on protecting astronauts from extreme hazards (radiation, dust, temps, vacuum) and operational challenges (injury, life support failure, CO2 buildup, decompression), using rigorous design (Injury Modes & Effects Analysis, radiation shielding, better seals), advanced training (pre-breathing), constant monitoring (SFIT tools), and comprehensive protocols to ensure long-duration mission safety, balancing performance needs with crew survival, says NASA's risk management process for human spaceflight and NASA's approach to EVA suits for lunar and Mars missions. Key risks include dust contamination, thermal extremes, radiation exposure, and physiological strain from frequent, demanding EVAs, requiring redundant life support and injury mitigation.
Key Risks & Mitigation Strategies
Radiation & Dust: Martian regolith (dust) is abrasive, adhesive, and can damage equipment/harm humans; radiation is intense.
Mitigation: Advanced suit materials, better seals, dust-resistant designs, habitat shielding.
Physiological Strain/Injury: More frequent & demanding EVAs on Mars (24 hrs/week) increase injury risk compared to ISS.
Mitigation: SFIT (Spacesuit Fit & Injury Technologies) to predict/monitor injury, improved suit ergonomics (e.g., Z-2.5 design), better fit.
Life Support/Environmental Control: Risks like CO2 buildup, oxygen depletion, humidity, fire, and decompression sickness are critical.
Mitigation: Redundant systems, CO2 scrubbers, pre-breathing protocols (pure O2 for nitrogen purge) to prevent decompression sickness (DCS).
Operational & Technical: Design complexity, maintenance, long-duration reliability, and emergency scenarios.
Mitigation: NASA's formal risk management process (Human System Risk Board), detailed Maintenance plans, vacuum chamber testing, and designs for quick emergency return.
NASA's Approach
Formal Risk Management: Uses detailed causal diagrams (directed acyclic graphs) to map hazards to mission outcomes, improving stakeholder communication.
Focus on Exploration EVAs: Recognizing ISS EVAs (slower pace, fewer per mission) differ greatly from Mars needs, developing suits for higher performance and safety.
Integrated Systems: Designing suits (like xEMU) to support multiple programs (Artemis, ISS, Gateway) while managing unique mission risks

For SpaceNut ... re https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 44#p236544

The text you pasted about airlocks looks reasonable, but there are no references.

This forum needs to get in the habit of providing references for every post that might be assumed by a reader to be something other than an opinion.

I like the discussion about multiple stages of air locks.  That looks really tedious to me.

The worry about contaminating Mars is understandable for an initial expedition.

It has nothing to do with Calliban's dome airlock.  We aren't going to be worried about contamination of Mars.

You have already started discussion because you are (apparently) worried about CO in Mars atmosphere that might enter the habitat.

I have tried to encourage you to guide your AI to produce useful guidance on how to do that. The AI may have found some NASA documentation but I don't see that has much if anything to do with Calliban's dome.

You provided a problem to solve. Now please guide AI to find a solution.

For SpaceNut re Post #4030

Thanks for the link to the Data General article on Wikipedia.... That is a ** very ** interesting article...

My work environment did not include exposure to Data General, so I'm glad to have this opportunity to learn about that inspired group of people who spun off from Dec ... I am also interested to learn that you were part of that successful venture!  I don't know if you noticed, but toward the bottom of the article, it was reported that the control panel of Data General may have inspired the front panel of the famous MITS Altair 8800, which I was able to acquire in it's original kit form.

(th)

For SpaceNut .... thanks for the reminder of Data General!

I asked Google for a refresh, and it found a number of references...

Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rccMfdxMe1U

The comments section is filled with memories of people who worked with or on that system.

(th)

A Mars airlock for clean entry focuses on planetary protection by minimizing Earth microbe transfer and Martian dust contamination, often using multi-chamber designs with dedicated suit ports (like NASA's MESA concept) for external donning/doffing, specialized dust mitigation (air showers, wiping), and integrated suit/equipment storage to keep the habitat sterile, essentially acting as a "mudroom" to prevent biological and particulate cross-contamination during crew EVAs.
Key Design Principles for Mars Airlocks:
Multi-Chamber System: Instead of one chamber, systems often propose two or three sections (antechambers) to create distinct zones for suit preparation, dust removal, and entry into the habitat.
External Suit Donning/Doffing (MESA Concept): A key innovation is the Mars EVA Suit Airlock (MESA), where suits attach externally to the habitat. The crew enters the suit from the habitat, then exits the airlock for EVA, keeping suit surfaces away from the main living area.
Dust Mitigation:
Air Showers & Wiping Stations: Integrated systems to blast/wipe dust off suits and equipment before entering the main habitat.
Specialized Ports: Airlocks have dedicated ports for suits, allowing them to be docked and maintained externally.
Integrated Storage: Airlocks function as storage for suits, tools, and emergency supplies (water, rations) to keep them outside the primary habitable zone, as discussed in this concept by Jenkins, accessed via newmars.com.
Planetary Protection Focus: The primary driver is preventing terrestrial microbes from contaminating Mars (forward contamination) and potentially harmful Martian materials from entering the habitat (backward contamination).
How it Works (Conceptual Example):
Before EVA: Astronauts don suits within the habitat, pass through the airlock into the external suit port, and detach.
After EVA: Astronauts re-enter the airlock, attach suits, go through decontamination (air/wipes), remove suits in the inner chamber, and enter the habitat, leaving contaminated gear behind.
These designs aim to reconcile human exploration needs with strict planetary protection requirements, making the airlock a critical interface for keeping Mars clean

For SpaceNut .... Your new topic about garage/hanger volume looks promising.  I don't think anyone will be able to fill such a volume with very expensive clean air. Clean air will be reserved for use in habitats, and inside sealed vehicles.  I can't imagine anyone being able to afford to take the time to pump down a garage or hanger sized volume just to work on a vehicle.

I think it makes more sense to bring the vehicle into a volume where you can close the huge door and let dust settle to the floor.

Mechanical sweepers might be a way to collect the dust, because vacuums aren't going to work in the thin Mars atmosphere.

Ingenuity showed that large fans ** can ** work on Mars.

It might make sense to blow dust off of vehicles before driving them into a garage or hanger.

Humans may have experience performing maintenance in sand storms. It's not something I've heard much about.

(th)