After popular vote, NASA has a new futuristic skin for their Z-2 space suit design. Incorporating electroluminescent wire and exposed rotating bearings, this is the technology-themed design. The design will be used for terrestrial testing, so get ready for some awesome photo-shoots.
What makes the Z-2 different?
First surface-specific planetary mobility suit to be tested in full vacuum
First use of 3D human laser scans and 3D-printed hardware for suit development and sizing
Most advanced use of impact resistant composite structures on a suit upper and lower torso system
First integration of the suit-port concept with a hard upper torso suit structure
Most conformal and re-sizeable hard upper torso suit built to date
The suit sticks closely to the original design concept of grey, black, and blue with lots of triangles.
The suit will be used for terrestrial testing, including vacuum chamber tests, immersion in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (a huge indoor pool), and prowling around the rocky Mars-analogy terrain near the Johnson Space Center.
All images credit: NASA. Tip via Ghost in the Machine, thank you! This suit looks a whole lot more mobile than Hap Hazard’s marshmallow moon-suit. For more futuristic designs, have you seen the idea for Chernobyl?
