Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

Palomar · 2005-01-26 08:05:37

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology … html]Ultra spacesuits of the future

*Is a long, involved article; I haven't time to make many comments or point out highlights. A "must-read" :up: I want one!

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-26 08:47:38

Interesting, though nothing really "new" conceptually. The "shrink wrap" approach they mention has always struck me as much better than pressurization, though I have some questions about how it would work. A constricting layer exerting correct pressure is easy over a leg, but certain... other regions have curvature and structural characteristics that don't lend themselves to such an approach.

I suppose a spray-on layer similar to what they mention could be a solution but that has a whole host of other problems. What happens if you urinate in the "suit" for example? Get people wandering around Mars, far from any facilities and it's going to happen.

If they take the biologic angle far enough it could conceivably not only recycle your air but filter urine into drinkable water for quite some time. I suppose you'd still have to wallow in your own feces though. And then there's the potential of the suit getting diseased, being "alive" and all.

Interesting at any rate. The suit ideas, not the wallowing.

SpaceNut · 2005-01-26 08:49:22

There was another article of simular type probably 6 months ago on materials for radiational shielding and of flexibility. That I remember noting or commenting on I think in the moon direct thread number 1.

I am glad to see so many Universities working on solutions that we will face as we venture back into space.

Trebuchet · 2005-01-26 22:19:33

You could fill the suit with some sort of liquid instead of a gas; liquids don't have the problem of variable volume which causes normal gas-pressurized suits to balloon. Another solution would be to build the pressure layer out of wire and spandex like a body-sized Wonderbra to get all the curves right. Or something like that.

Austin Stanley · 2005-01-27 13:08:01

My concurn about "shrink wrap suits" is there long term durability. Getting in and out of them has got to apply alot of stress to the fabric. There increased flexibility also means more stress is applied. Applying internal pressure to the body also obviously involves stress to the fabric. I worry that all this stress will lead to a shorter life span for the suit. Or worse yet, for it to fail at a critical moment.

As for the human waste issues. I know it is gross, but you can always hook up a cather and what not. Not plesant, but better then urinating in your suit I imagine. As a bonus you get to collect the waste for later recyling.

J.J. Moesker · 2005-01-27 13:19:26

Spray-on/ spin-on suits are the future but…

Both artificial wire mussels and electro spinning are closely related to nanotechnology and funding magnets. It is doubtfull if these technologies are really required for such a suit.

What types of systems are realy required during Mars EVA? Do we need biometric sensors? Do we need onboard computers? Do we need artificial mussels? Space.com isn't the best source, to say the least. It doesn't realy say how the various new technologies will be implemented. Yet over engineering is going to make such a project very expensive and likely cause it to be never be finished at all. Onsuit systems should preferable be limited to an air supply system which could be inspired by the modern regenerative gear used by scuba divers. And furthermore a basic radio communication system which is essential. The thermal control system for a Mars suit can most likely be implemented as a passive system.

Navigation equipment is not needed ‘onsuit’, if you are opting for ‘out of sight’ tours than you will properly take some sort of transportation aid to get you there. Furthermore GPS-like systems are simply not available on Mars. The major navigational aids will be visual terrain identification (good old paper maps based on sat imagery) and radio beacons.

The thing is, that on Mars there is no technical infrastructure to support the repair of hightech devices. IMO whenever possible high-tech solutions should be avoided, they tend to complicate thing.

Has anyone seen any experimental results of these types of suits? I can imagine that existing spray-on polymers could go a long to support the human skin against the near vacuum pressure.

btw. first post after lurking in the dark for sometime

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-27 13:38:02

Welcome into the light J.J. Moesker.

Overall I agree with you on this, we should always endeavor to use the simplest and most robust solution available. These suits need to do only two things, exert pressure on the body and provide breathable air. Nothing else should be integrated in a way that could interfere with those functions, however cool artificial muscles might be.

Still, I'm wondering how any tension-based system will adapt to some of the difficult surfaces a human body has. The concave underarms could be problematic and trying to comfortably apply this to the male genitalia could be a design nightmare.

???

Euler · 2005-01-27 16:32:41

Another potential problem is that the area with the mouth, nose, ears and eyes really needs to be pressurized. How do they plan on getting a good, airtight seal between the pressurized area and the tension area?

Commodore · 2005-01-27 19:54:42

Still, I'm wondering how any tension-based system will adapt to some of the difficult surfaces a human body has. The concave underarms could be problematic and trying to comfortably apply this to the male genitalia could be a design nightmare.

???

So much for live EVA coverage. :;):

Trebuchet · 2005-01-27 22:06:37

trying to comfortably apply this to the male genitalia could be a design nightmare.

The codpiece returneth.

dicktice · 2005-01-28 08:01:01

Not only the codpiece, but puffy pantaloons reminiscent of the 1500's explorers, for waste containment. Might they have had this in mind fashion-wise, back then, for when they fell off the Edge of the World? Naw . . . too far-fetched.

Palomar · 2005-01-28 08:30:53

trying to comfortably apply this to the male genitalia could be a design nightmare.
The codpiece returneth.

*Jock strap?

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-01-28 10:32:48

It has to be skin-tight, remember. Either that or the helmet isn't the only part of the suit that needs to be pressurized.

Exploring Mars in pantaloons full of escrement and a pressurized groin?

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-05-17 10:41:08

New suits from NASA, Space-X and Boeing, perhaps an old topic worth a bump

Axiom Space eyes the moon while continuing to dream big in Earth orbit
https://www.space.com/axiom-space-iss-a … moon-rover

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2024-05-17 12:15:31)

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#1 2005-01-26 08:05:37

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#2 2005-01-26 08:47:38

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#3 2005-01-26 08:49:22

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#4 2005-01-26 22:19:33

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#5 2005-01-27 13:08:01

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#6 2005-01-27 13:19:26

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#7 2005-01-27 13:38:02

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#8 2005-01-27 16:32:41

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#9 2005-01-27 19:54:42

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#10 2005-01-27 22:06:37

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#11 2005-01-28 08:01:01

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#12 2005-01-28 08:30:53

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#13 2005-01-28 10:32:48

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

#14 2024-05-17 10:41:08

Re: Bio-Suit Systems - (MIT)

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