autoevolution
 

Here Are the Most Badass Spacesuits NASA Ever Made

Despite the enthusiastic, head-on approach when it comes to its plans for the future, most people still believe NASA's glory years remain the 1960s, probably in part because of the agency's lack of visible progress when it comes to the hardware needed to support future missions. 
Guy with smouldering gaze in Orion Crew Survival System 6 photos
Photo: NASA
NASA Orion and Artemis spacesuitsNASA Orion and Artemis spacesuitsNASA Orion and Artemis spacesuitsNASA Orion and Artemis spacesuitsNASA Orion and Artemis spacesuits
With both the Orion capsule and the SLS rocket still in testing stages, the Artemis space program was until earlier this week all talk and no game. That changed at NASA's headquarters on October 15, when administrator Jim Bridenstine and NASA engineer Amy Ross showed for the first time the next-generation spacesuits.

The astronauts of the Artemis program will rely not on one, but two suits. The first is called Orion Crew Survival System and is the one people will be wearing on the Orion spacecraft during liftoff and re-entry. Modified to fit present-day requirements, it will become the most visible piece of apparel for astronauts in the coming years.

The most spectacular of the two is however the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). This is not a simple suit, but an outright survival machine meant to keep men and women alive and kicking as they set the foundations of our first crewed outpost on an alien piece of rock.

The suit is high-tech to a degree the world has never seen before. Equipped with tons of miniaturized parts and redundant systems, it can be fitted with a variety of interchangeable parts to serve the immediate needs of the explorers.

For the first time, astronauts will get into the suit from behind, climbing inside as they would a very tall vehicle. This feature allows for the pieces of the hard upper torso to sit closer together than the current design.

The communications system has been redesigned, with engineers replacing the snoopy cap headsets with voice-activated microphones.

The xEMU will form the basis for the development of the Mars exploration suits, with a number of changes planned, including the addition of an evolved life-support system.

You can watch the presentation of the suits in the video attached below.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories