Under Pressure: by Phillip Keane a Brief History of Pressure Suits Part 1

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Space Safety Lessons Learned Winter Magazine 2013 Under Pressure: By Phillip Keane A Brief History of Pressure Suits Part 1

or the most part of our history, we have not ventured too far Foutside of a very specific set of environmental conditions, optimal for human life. It wasn’t until we began to explore the depths of the oceans in the 18th century, and then began to explore higher altitudes in the 20th century that we noticed the effects of pressure on human physiology. These new environments introduced variations in temperature and pressure that were far in excess of our comfort zone, up to the point of being fatal to those not properly equipped. Pressure ressure, in hydrostatic terms, is Pthe force exerted on a body from a column of fluid of a certain height. This principle applies to air as well as water. The pressure acts perpendicular to the body from all directions. So in any fluid, the pressure experienced is proportion- al to the product of ρgh, where ρ is the density of the fluid, g is the gravity and h is the height of the column of fluid. At sea level, the pressure exerted by the atmosphere above is equal to 1 atm, or 101.1 bar. As we traverse skywards, the height of the air column acting on the body decreases, and therefore so does the pressure experienced. The opposite can be said for when the human body descends beneath Siebe, Gorman & Co. Ltd. bolted diving helmet. – Credits: David L. Dekker www.divescrap.com the ocean surface: pressure increases as the depth increases, and because sure increases proportionally faster with of altitude suits, and later on, the space water is much denser than air, the pres- respect to depth. As mentioned previ- suit, both share a common design heri- ously, we operate best in a very narrow tage to underwater diving equipment. margin of atmospheric conditions, and The very first aviation pressure suits outside of these conditions, we need to resembled diving suits, as they were Humans bring a suitable environment with us to largely just modified versions of the survive, and this is where the story of sub-aquatic equipment. The most ob- operate best in the pressure suit begins. vious commonality between the two types of suit is the need to create a a very narrow fluid-tight seal, be it for water or for Diving air, and George Edwards was the first margin of to design a diving suit with a bolt-on lthough underwater diving and helmet that prevented ingress of wa- atmospheric Ahigh altitude flight involve different ter. Previous designs relied on a helmet extremes of the pressure spectrum, it is that was held in place purely by its own conditions worth mentioning them both from a his- weight, which frequently resulted in the torical perspective, as the development deaths of divers from drowning. 

16 Space Safety Lessons Learned Winter Magazine 2013

Development History orld War I saw the first widespread Wuse of fighter craft in combat, and consequently pilots were subjected to high g-loads as well as exposure to altitudes above 4,572m as they strove to avoid enemy fire. Pilots reported loss of vision during high g maneuvres as well as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. It was realized by medics that most of these symptoms were related to lack of oxygen at altitude, although the effects of acceleration were not realized until much later on. The first conceptual pressure suit was designed after World War I by Fred Sample, an engineer from Florida, US. On 16th July 1918 he was awarded the Canadian Wilbur Rounding Franks with his “Franks Flying Suit,” the first G-suit, with wa- patent for his “suit for aviators”, that ter filled bladders. – Credits: University of Toronto Archives/Jack Marshall Photography featured a bolt-on helmet, an oxygen hose that connected to a tank fitted on The 1930’s are often seen as a Gold- the back, and an inflatable gas-bladder en Age for aviation, with various par- The first which provided mechanical counter ties competing to achieve higher alti- pressure to the lungs (much like the tudes and faster speed records. Two aviation partial-pressure suits later designed). It such gentlemen were the Swiss physi- was intended for pilots and mountain cists August Piccard and his associate pressure suits climbers. The suit was never manufac- Charles Knipfer, who on May 27th 1931 tured, although it shared similarities with became the first human beings to reach were modified designs implemented in the late 1940’s the stratosphere using a balloon and and 50’s. pressurized gondola. versions of The first pressure suit ever manufac- Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, USA, tured was designed in 1931 by Evgeniy another daredevil explorer had his eye sub-aquatic Chertovsky, a Soviet engineer working on the altitude record. Mark Edward for the Aviation Medicine Institute in Ridge, who had previous experience in equipment Leningrad. It was designed to protect skydiving, had realized that the weight the crew of Russian High-Altitude bal- of a pressurized gondola would affect loon experiments, but due to a cata- the performance of the balloon, and design, and SG&C modified one of their strophic fire on the test balloon in 1935, came to the conclusion that in order diving suits to enable it to offer protec- it was never put to use. to survive at these altitudes he would tion in a low pressure environment. This be better off surrounding himself with suit, made from rubber and canvas, was pressurized air in a more lightweight the first full pressure suit in history. and close-fitting form. The Ridge pressure suit was never Ridge first turned to the US military tested in flight, but on November 16th for funding, but was refused assistance, 1933, Ridge became the first person to so he then approached Dr. John Scott test a suit in an altitude chamber. Haldane, a professor at Oxford Univer- The honour of first flight in a pressure sity, UK. Haldane had previous experi- suit goes to an aviator by the name of ence working with pressure chambers Wiley Post. Post had already won sev- as a researcher investigating the effects eral flight endurance awards and had of decompression sickness in divers. realized that he could fly a lot faster at Haldane also had experience of high higher altitude, due to decreased air altitude, as he led an expedition to the resistance. This reduced air resistance summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, US, also meant that the piston engines of to investigate the effects of low pressure the time could not breathe enough oxy- at high altitude. gen to sustain combustion. This situ- Haldane had previously worked with ation changed with the advent of the Sir Robert Davis from Siebe Gorman & supercharger and other forced air in- Company, an equipment manufacturer duction systems. On August 30th 1934, Wiley Post in his full pressure suit. for deep sea divers. Ridge and Haldane Post became the first person to test an Credits: US Air Force approached the company with the Ridge operational pressure suit in flight. 

17 Space Safety Lessons Learned Winter Magazine 2013

US Air Force pilot being equipped with air- bladder type anti-G suit. – Credits: US Air Force

company entered into the pressure suit business with the “T-1 model,” and they have remained at the forefront of pressure suit design ever since. At the end of the war, a new paradigm was about to emerge. With the inven- tion of the jet engine by Frank Whittle and with developments in rocketry by the Germans, human endurance was Winston Churchill’s Personal Pressure Chamber was fitted to his personal aircraft, main- about to be pushed to new extremes, taining pressure at an equivalent of 1524m which enabled the ailing Prime Minister to never before experienced. The seeds of travel above 2438m. – Credits: LIFE Magazine the Space Age had been sown, and the pressure suit manufacturers would be During the remainder of the 1930’s, forced to change with the times. several countries were developing In 1934 Wiley their own suit designs in parallel, with To be continued in Part 2: The Jet Age, a variety of different results. The Ger- Post became the The Cold War, Apollo, and beyond. man company Drager was working on hard-shelled full-pressure suits, but the first person to lack of mobility provided by the metal suit rendered it useless for aviation. The test a pressure lack of mobility caused by the pressurized suits ballooning was a design chal- suit in flight lenge that engineers would attempt to overcome for decades after. were suffering from effects of blood pooling in the legs and from organ World War II shifts inside the abdominal cavities. Armstrong discovered that by apply- and G-suits. ing pressure at the extremities and at the chest that these effects could be ne name that resonates through prevented. There were several different Othe history of aero medicine is that concepts being tested at the time, all of of Harry Armstrong, a physician in the which required a pressurized fluid con- US Air Force who investigated forma- tained within bladders positioned within tion of gas bubbles in the blood and the the suit. The Canadians opted for wa- necessity for prebreathing, examined ter filled bladders, and the Australians, toxic hazards in aircraft, and defined British, and Americans opted for pneu- the point in the atmosphere known as matic systems. Some systems required Armstrong’s Line: the altitude at which hand pumping for pressurization, while unconfined water on the human body others used compressed air of the en- The “Tomato Worm,” one of the few full- would boil at body temperature. gine superchargers. It was during this pressure suits developed during WWII for As first observed during WWI, pilots period that the legendary David Clark US Air Force pilots. – Credits: US Air Force

18 Space Safety Lessons Learned Spring Magazine 2013 Under Pressure: By Phillip Keane A Brief History of Pressure Suits Part 2

In the previous issue, we examined the gines allowed for even higher accelera- sub-aquatic origins of the pressure suit, tion than previous piston engines, and The Cold War effects of pressure and high accelera- due to the compressors inherent in tur- tion on the human body, and the devel- bojets, allowed aircraft to fly at much caused a surge opment of pressure suits until the end higher altitudes where the air was less of WWII. dense. This development meant that of aviation the human body would be subjected to stresses far greater than anything be- development The Jet Age fore, and required further innovations in pressure suit design. lthough the turbojet had been designed by BF Goodrich. This suit un- designed in parallel by English derwent many modifications over a 10 Aengineer Frank Whittle and Ger- The Cold War year period, and culminated in the Mark man engineer Hans Von Ohain, jet en- IV, which formed the basis for the suits gines were largely ignored until 1944, ollowing the Second World War and worn in the next chapter of American when the RAF and Luftwaffe began Fthe newly invented jet engine, the pressure suit development: the Mercury using jet aircraft operationally. Jet en- Cold War caused a surge of aviation program and the dawn of the Space development, including race against the USSR. high speed and high altitude based projects such as the X-1, X-15, Orbit and Beyond and the Lockheed Mar- tin U2 programs. Pilots he 1957 launch of Sputnik-1 by of the X-1 aircraft were Tthe Soviet Union had caused pan- the first to utilize the op- ic in the American government, which erational capstan pres- resulted in the creation of NASA and sure suits, specifically ARPA the following year. The race to put the S-1 and later the T-1. a man into space began with initiation It was reported, how- of the American Mercury program and ever, that Chuck Yeager the Russian Vostok program. wore a standard flight The Russians succeeded in plac- suit for the first super- ing Yuri Gagarin into orbit on April 12th, sonic flight, as he didn’t 1961. For the purpose of this space- reach a sufficient alti- flight, the SK-1 spacesuit was devel- tude where a pressure oped by Russian company NPP Zvezda. suit would be needed. The SK-1 was used on all Vostok mis- During the late 1940s sions, with a modified version, des- and through most of the ignated as SK-2, used for Valentina 1950’s, the US Air Force Tereshkova, the first woman in space. (USAF) and US Navy The SK-1 was a full pressure type suit, divided their efforts in and was designed to keep the cosmo- terms of development. nauts alive for up to 5 hours in the event USAF focused largely of cabin pressure loss. on partial pressure suits In March 1965, Alexey Leonov be- for their fighter pilots came the first man to perform an EVA whereas the Navy fo- from his Voskhod-2 spacecraft. Leonov cused on developing full used the SK-1 derived Berkut space- pressure suits with im- suit, which contained additional life sup- mersion protection for port equipment. At the end of the EVA, the pilots who ended the suit ballooned due to the vacuum, up “in the drink.” One which prevented Leonov from reenter- such naval development ing the capsule. He was forced to bleed was the Mark 1 Mod III air out of the suit to enter the vehicle. Omni-Environmental full The American Mercury program ran The SK-1 spacesuit. – Credits: Mikhail Shcherbakov pressure suit, which was from 1959 to 1963, and was also 

13 Space Safety Lessons Learned Spring Magazine 2013

Gemini suits were seen as adequate for the purpose until the Apollo 1 fire directed towards putting a man into or- which used a stripped down version bit. The Goodrich Mark IV suit was seen of the G3C, known as the G5C, to en- as adequate for that purpose. However, able donning and doffing whilst on the subsequent Gemini and Apollo pro- the longer duration mission. Addition- grams required EVA maneuvers, and ally, the G5C featured a soft hood, therefore additional protection from which could be removed far more eas- temperature extremes and radiation. ily than the fiberglass helmets of the For the Gemini missions, NASA previous models. worked with David Clark Company to For the initial Apollo Block 1 tests, create the G3C and G4C suits based NASA utilized a slightly modified G3C on the suits used by the X-15 pilots. suit, which was given the designation The Gemini suits were constructed of A1C. The main innovation in the A1C six layers of nylon, including an interior was an inflatable “Mae West” device, nylon bladder and Nomex. which was necessary in case of emer- America made its first EVA in June gency water landing following launch A Krechet-94 suit, showing the entry port 1965 as part of the Gemini 4 mission. escape. The Gemini suits were seen as and integrated life support system. The G4C suit used on Gemini 4 was adequate for the purpose until the fire in Credits: Richard Kruse, Historicspacecraft.com similar in construction to the G3C, ex- Apollo 1 forced NASA to insist on fire- cept it contained extra layers of Mylar proofing on the exterior of the suits. The tained an integrated life support sys- to aid with thermal insulation, and a contract for the Apollo suits was then tem. This rear entry hatch bears some visor to prevent blindness during EVA. awarded to ILC Dover, and the new resemblance to the rear entry system The early versions of the full pressure Apollo Block II suits were designated as on the experimental Z-1 suit currently helmet contained a plexiglass face- A7L. The A7L was used on all manned in development by NASA. At the same plate, whereas the later models used Apollo missions, as well as Skylab and time, the Soviet Union began develop- polycarbonate. These suits were used the Apollo-Soyuz missions. Neil Arm- ment of the Orlan spacesuit, which was on all Gemini missions except Gemini 7, strong described the suit as “tough, designed primarily for EVAs in micro- reliable and almost cud- gravity. Variants of the Orlan have been dly.” The AL7 was the used on space stations ever since, and suit used during EVA on are still used today onboard ISS. the lunar surface. Ad- ditional features on the EVA version included a Combat Edge micrometeoroid shield and cooling system, he high altitude U2 and SR-71 pro- which interfaced with Tgrams spawned a protective gar- the astronaut’s back- ment that evolved into the partial pres- pack. The A7L was used sure Launch Entry Suit, and later the full until the discontinuation pressure Advanced Crew Escape Suit of Apollo in 1975, and (ACES), both of which were used on the lent many of its features Space Shuttle. These Shuttle suits were to high altitude flight designed and manufactured by the Da- suits in the same period. vid Clark Company. A modified version The Soviet Union had of the ACES suit is being developed for also been developing use on the future manned Orion mis- suits for their ill-fated lu- sions. The ACES suit is also similar in nar landing program. In design to the Russian Sokol suit, which 1967, NPP Zvezda be- is used by astronauts who fly on board gan development of the the Soyuz. Both the ACES and Sokol semi-rigid Krechet-94 are intended to protect the crew in the pressure suit. This suit event of cabin pressure loss, and are weighed in at 90kg, and unsuitable for EVAs. had an aluminum alloy The 1970s saw the rise of the 4th torso with flexible arms. generation of fighter jets, including It also contained a rear the F-15 and F-16. What was remark- entry system, to enable able about these aircraft was their high Jim Lovell wearing the hooded G5C suit, prior to the launch of quicker donning and thrust to weight ratios, which enabled the Gemini 7 mission. – Credits: NASA doffing, which also con- the aircraft to perform perfectly 

14 Space Safety Lessons Learned Spring Magazine 2013

Neil Armstrong described the A7L as “tough, reliable and almost cuddly”

experienced hypoxia-like symptoms. Initial reports had pointed to a fault in the breathing regulator/anti-g (BRAG) valve, that forces the vest to remain inflated, even when the pilot is not un- dergoing heavy g-loads. It is suspected that this garment is forcing the pilots NASA astronaut Rex Walheim undergoes a fit check of his Sokol spacesuit in 2011. into a state of shallow breathing, which Credits: NASA in turn causes hyperventilation. The root cause has not yet been completely vertical climbs for sustained periods NBC protection (Nuclear Biological established, although investigators will of time, meaning loads of +9-Gz, and Chemical), liquid cooling garments, and be looking into all protective garments rapid ascent to high altitude. The ultra thermal flash protective goggles. Sev- worn by F-22 pilots. Whatever the re- maneuverability of these new aircraft eral different ensemble variations were sult of the investigation, given the fact meant pilots required new garments presented to the USAF; however, the that in the early 1970s pilots were still allowing extra levels of protection as final suit selected for operation consist- wearing pressure suit and g-protection well as increased flexibility to operate ed of an extended pressure-vest/torso countermeasures which had their roots the planes. garment, a modified CRU-73 regula- in WWII technology, it may be a good These new requirements led to the tor, and a CSU-13B/P type g-suit. This time to ask why 21st century fighter pi- creation of the Tactical Life Support ensemble would ultimately evolve into lots are wearing technology that was System development program, which the Combined Advanced Technology developed for 1970s aircraft. combined g-suit garments with pres- Enhanced Design G-Ensemble, also sure breathing equipment in a single known as “Combat Edge.” ensemble, as opposed to previous ef- The Combat Edge ensemble is still forts that focused on developing sep- used by fighter pilots today, although The series continues in the next issue, arate garments. In addition to the ac- its efficiency and safety has been ques- where we will look at the future of pres- celeration and altitude protection, the tioned in the light of several recent F-22 sure suits, including NASA’s Z-1 and program aimed to equip the suits with Raptor incidents, where pilots have the Biosuit.

F-22 Raptor pilots have had a spate of incidents in which overinflated vests caused hypoxia-like symptoms. – Credits: US Air Force

15 Space Safety Lessons Learned Summer Magazine 2013 Under Pressure: By Phillip Keane A Brief History of Pressure Suits Part 3

the pressure within the suit according The Future The Z-1 is the to altitude. It is hoped that the informa- tion gleaned from the jump will aid de- n the last issue, we looked at high first officially velopment of fighter pilot suits for use speed, high altitude aviation, the in the event of high-altitude bail out. Idawn of the space race, and the endorsed NASA pressure suits that kept the pilots and astronauts alive in those extreme envi- suit design ILC Dover: Still ronments. We also noted that pressure suit design is a long process, and that in 20 years Going Strong the state of the art of aerospace vehi- cles can often overtake that of pressure ince the design of the Space Shut- suits, meaning that pressure suit design ner ascended in a pressurized gondola Stle’s semi-rigid EMU (Extravehicular really hasn’t changed in over half a cen- and utilized a custom pressure suit Mobility Unit) suit in 1980, ILC Dover tury. In this chapter, we will look at the made by the David Clarke Company for has supplied an unbroken run of inno- future of pressure suit design. his descent. As skydivers require visual vative designs. In 1988, the company cues from their environment, the Red unveiled the developmental ILC Dover Bull suit featured mirrors and a heated Mk III, which featured a rear-entry sys- Spacediving visor to defog the screen from breath- tem for more rapid entry than the waist- induced condensation. The suit was entry EMU suit. The high operating ne of the better publicized devel- both flame retardant and offered ther- pressure (57 kPa) of the Mk III would Oopments in recent history came mal protection in the range of +37°C enable astronauts to transfer from a from the David Clarke Company that to -67°C. To aid stability, the suit con- pressurized air environment, such as a designed and manufactured the suit tained a drogue parachute and sensors space station, into an oxygen rich suit worn by Felix Baumgartner for the Red that would deploy the chute in the event without a pre-breathe required to avoid Bull Stratos project. On 14th October that its wearer lost consciousness. In the bends. The combination of hard and 2012, Baumgartner completed his his- addition to accelerometers and gyros soft materials enabled a wider range toric jump from 38.969 km and became for measuring linear and angular accel- of motions, including bending fully at the first man to break the sound barrier eration, pressure sensors were routed the knees, than early Apollo and EMU without the aid of an engine. Baumgart- through a controller which regulated suits. Despite the success of tests, this suit was never used in space, as NASA favored an even more flexible soft suit option. I-Suit esign features from the Mk III car- Dried over to the I-Suit. Development started in 1997, with the first generation waist-entry suit being delivered the following year. The second generation featured improvements and included a rear-entry system, a redesigned helmet for greater visibility, and weight reduc- tion measures. A heads-up display was incorporated into the helmet and GPS functionality added. The I-Suit was developed for planetary excursions, using fewer heavy bearings and more soft fabrics to minimize the weight. The I- Suit featured a pure oxygen breathing system, water cooling, and was pres- Felix Baumgartner stands in his pressure suit right before his 14 October jump. surized to 29.6 kPa, which also allowed Credits: Red Bull Content Pool for greater mobility. 

17 Space Safety Lessons Learned Summer Magazine 2013

When contained in a tight-fitting outer NASA Z-Series garment, this expansion would provide a force perpendicular to the body sur- he Z-Series is the culmination of face. This effect was similar to that uti- Tthe previous efforts of ILC Dover. lized by the gas and fluid filled bladders The Z-1 was the first prototype in the in g-suits. Thus, the concept of the Me- Z-series, revealed in November 2012; it chanical Counterpressure Suit (MCP) is the first officially endorsed NASA suit was born. The system was developed design in 20 years. Z-1 is a full-pressure further as part of the X-20 DynaSoar design with power supply, CO2 scrub- project, but was abandoned in 1962 bers and thermal control. It features a when the suit was shown to be less mo- rear port intended to connect to a dock- bile than predicted. ing port on a Lunar or Martian ground The advantages of the MCP largely vehicle. This will prevent astronauts from stem from elimination of gas pressur- bringing contaminants such as abrasive ization. Contrary to popular belief, ex- lunar regolith or toxic Martian soil into posure to hard vacuum does not cause the vehicle. The port will enable astro- the body to explode but tends to make nauts to don the suit much faster than is the body swell and expand, and take on possible with current suit designs. With the appearance of a bodybuilder. The the suit at the same pressure (57.2 kPa) elastic fabrics of the MCP would apply and gas mixture as its connected ve- pressure to the body to counteract the hicle, there will be no need for the user swelling, keeping the astronaut alive. to pre-breathe oxygen before an excur- Additionally, due to the soft materials sion. ILC Dover has already won the used, if the astronaut were to get hit contract to design the Z-2. If all goes The ILC Dover Mk III is tested by Desert Re- by a micrometeoroid then the damage well, the best elements of both suits will search and Technology Studies (RATS) team would be localized to the impact area, be combined into the production level in Arizona Desert. – Credits: NASA and would not result in a rapid decom- Z-3, to be tested on the International pression as would be the case in a gas Space Station in 2017. configurations: an IVA soft-suit, similar pressure suit. in design to the ACES pressure suit, The development of improved fabrics which could be worn during launch spurred NASA engineer Paul Webb to Constellation Suit and reentry operations for protection in revisit the concept of the MCP, and in the case of cabin pressure loss and a 1968 he published an article in Aero- he Constellation Space Suit Sys- hard shelled mode for EVA use, provid- space Medicine that attracted positive Ttem (CSSS) concept was designed ing protection from micrometeoroids, attention from the industry. Now re- by Oceaneering, a company that pre- radiation, and abrasive lunar dust. The ferred to as the “Space Activity Suit,” viously specialized in deep-sea explo- suit was originally intended to be worn and described as an “elastic leotard for ration technologies. This was the first by the Orion capsule crew, but develop- Extravehicular activity,” contracts were NASA award to a company outside the ment was axed along with the majority awarded for the development of the “big 3” suit makers. The CSSS has two of the Constellation Program. new suit. The Space Activity Suit was tested in vacuum chambers, with punc- ture holes up to 1mm in diameter and Mechanical showed no lasting harmful effects to the wearer, aside from a small blemish Counterpressure which faded quickly. The concept had been validated, Suits but due to problems with maintaining constant pressure over the joints in the arlier segments in this series ex- body, the program was dropped, and Eplored the design flaws that have research into MCPs all but stopped for traditional space suits, largely due to nearly thirty years.  pressurization needs. The gas envelope within the suit can cause a ballooning effect when worn in a vacuum environ- The advantages ment that restricts the wearer’s move- ment, as well as tiring astronauts due of the MCP to the extra effort required to perform each motion. largely stem In 1959, whilst working on the Mer- cury project, German born engineer from elimination Hans Mauch and his team noticed that The ILC Dover Z-1 prototype suit, which when a closed cell foam was subjected of gas NASA plans to test on the International to lower than ambient pressures, the Space Station in 2017. – Credits: NASA cells within the foam would expand. pressurization

18 Space Safety Lessons Learned Summer Magazine 2013

objectives have been developed, prior Bio-Suit to cancellations. The biggest One thing is for sure: we can’t rely t is apparent that future visitors to on designs that are half a century old, challenge facing IMars will be involved in strenuous á la aviation pressure suits. Perhaps physical activities that require a more the biggest challenge facing suit de- suit design is the agile space suit than the current state sign is the lack of direction for crewed of the art allows. For this purpose, Prof. space programs. It is relatively easy to lack of direction Dava J. Newman at MIT has been work- design for a lunar mission when you ing on an updated version of the MCP, know where your destination is, but for crewed space aka the “Bio-Suit.” Like the MCP pre- designing for all scenarios without con- decessors, the Bio-Suit is also a skin- crete direction can be expensive and programs tight garment, but where the previous time consuming. versions were made from foam, the Bio-Suit uses a fabric woven into a 3D matrix. The lines visible on the exterior of the suit are elasticated, and follow lines of non-extension over the body. The matrix acts in compression and tension, exerting a constant mechanical pressure over the body, but unlike previous iterations, the Bio-Suit retains equal pressure over joints, even when they are bending. Professor Newman is an expert in the field of biomechan- ics, and in particular has extensive experience in the use of computers for monitoring body movements, a criti- cal factor in overcoming the shortfalls of prior MCP suits. Similar to previous designs, the Bio-Suit can withstand small punctures without risk of rapid decompression, and the punctures can be healed immediately with strips of elasticated fabric, providing the wearer time to return to the safety of a pressurized environment. Skin-tight space suits have been a staple since the early days of science fiction for various reasons, ranging from aesthetics to advanced mobility. Buck Rogers wore one in the early comic books, and a similar garment called the “walker” was used for exploration of the Martian surface in Kim Stanley Robin- son’s Mars Trilogy. In a lot of respects, the Bio-Suit seems to be making the transition from art into reality...or it was. Like most of the innovative designs in this chapter, development of the Bio- Suit has been put on hiatus. The Ideal Suit he ideal suit should be easy to don Tand doff and provide protection for intra- and extra-vehicular activities, both on planet and off. It should be lightweight and mobile, yet should offer protection against radiation, micrometeoroids, dust, and temperature The Bio-Suit was invented by MIT Professor Dava Newman (pictured here) designed by extremes. It seems like a tall order, but Guillermo Trotti (A.I.A., Trotti and Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA) , and fabricated by Dai- the technologies to achieve all of these nese (Vicenza, Italy). – Credits: Donna Coveny