ESA seeks ways to make shared spacesuit underwear more hygienic

ESA is working on ways to make sharing unwashed underwear used in spacesuits a bit less horrible. The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) will work with the Vienna Textile Lab on the BACTeRMA project to test textiles with improved anti-bacterial properties for… Continue reading ESA seeks ways to make shared spacesuit underwear more hygienic

The hunt for spacesuit materials that can resist destructive lunar dust

An ESA initiative is working with French engineering company Comex, the German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research, and the Austrian Space Forum to look for new combinations of materials to create spacesuits and other equipment that are more resi… Continue reading The hunt for spacesuit materials that can resist destructive lunar dust

Future NASA astronauts may rely on electron beams to clean spacesuits

Blasting spacesuits with a beam of electrons could cause jagged, abrasive particles of moon dust to leap right off them, according to a newly published study. Apollo-era astronauts noted that the sticky, troublesome nature of lunar dust caused equipmen… Continue reading Future NASA astronauts may rely on electron beams to clean spacesuits

NASA’s Perseverance rover to test future spacesuit materials on Mars

When NASA’s Perseverance rover touches down on Mars in February 2021, it will carry with it the first-ever spacesuit samples to land on the Red Planet. The materials will be exposed to the brutal high-radiation environment to test how future astronaut-… Continue reading NASA’s Perseverance rover to test future spacesuit materials on Mars

Space suit from “2001: A Space Odyssey” could break records at auction

The Spacesuit from 2001: A Space Odyssey (MGM, 1968) is going to auction

The value of movie memorabilia is invariably linked to the importance of the film it comes from, with key props from the greatest films of all time always bringing auction prices commensurate with their time in the spotlight.

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Living On The Moon: The Challenges

Invariably when we write about living on Mars, some ask why not go to the Moon instead? It’s much closer and has a generous selection of minerals. But its lack of an atmosphere adds to or exacerbates the problems we’d experience on Mars. Here, therefore, is a fun thought experiment about that age-old dream of living on the Moon.

Inhabiting Lava Tubes

The Moon has even less radiation protection than Mars, having practically no atmosphere. The lack of atmosphere also means that more micrometeorites make it to ground level. One way to handle these issues is to bury structures under …read more

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Living on Mars: the Stuff You Never Thought About

In The Martian we saw what kind of hacking was needed to stay alive for a relatively short while on Mars, but what if you were trying to live there permanently? Mars’ hostile environment would affect your house, your transportation, even how you communicate. So here’s a fun thought experiment about how you’d live on Mars as part of a larger community.

Not Your Normal House

Radiation on Mars comes from the solar energy particles (SEP) and galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). Mars One, the organization planning one-way trips to Mars talks about covering their habitats in several meters of regolith, …read more

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Softer Side of Robots is Future of Space Suits

What will next generation space suits look like? Kari Love is making the case that new space suits will exhibit the best in soft robot technology. The problem is that most people don’t really understand much about soft robots, or about space for that matter. Her talk at the Hackaday SuperConference explores the research she has been doing into future generations of space suits. Check out the video below and then join us after the break for more on this topic.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been very excited about soft robotics. Kari Love is right when starting her talk …read more

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NASA Wants SpacePoop Hackers

NASA is looking for a few good men and women to solve an upcoming problem. Astronauts will soon be venturing outward beyond Earth orbit. If the spacecraft cabin should depressurize then they’ll have to put on their spacesuits and may have to keep them on for up to six days. During that time something will have to handle the resulting urine, fecal, and menstrual waste, all without the astronauts use of their hands. And that’s where you come in.

NASA is having a space poop challenge. The current system of an adult diaper won’t last six days. Your job, should …read more

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