7 replies to this topic

[Egann]

Yet another topic which skips my backlog of S&H topics to the front of the line.

 

Nasa has unveiled their prototype Mars suit. It looks exactly like something from a budget 50's movie.

 

 

Key points:

 

1. The new suit is not designed to handle space. It's for Mars. The pressure difference is probably inconsequential, but it won't take the heat.

 

2. It's made of entirely 3D printed parts. Apparently NASA is planning for On-site fabrication to be a huge deal for a Mars mission, even printing food that way. Makes perfect sense, of course. I just hope they pack a backup printer.

 

3. It's designed to be stylish and look like everyday clothes of the future might.

 

 

That last one made me laugh. I don't wear clothes which make me look like an obese glow-in-the-dark pillbug. Not saying I wouldn't love to wear it on Mars. It's just EVEN I wouldn't be caught dead wearing clothes like that on Earth.

 

I also note they didn't mention radiation protection or total weight. I know Mars doesn't have as much radiation as Earth, but after reading Curiosity's report on radiation, I would probably make lead underwear for mine.

 

Discuss

[Delphi]

I'm more worried about how we're going to get humans to Mars without killing them with cosmic radiation or crippling them from bone deformities and muscle loss. And the issues with edema.

I'll worry about how ridiculous they look after those little issues have been resolved.

Or when they make space elevators viable.

[Selena]

For whatever reason it reminds me of the cover of God Emperor of Dune. Just... huh.

 

 

But yeah, good job designing a suit. Good luck with the rest of it, considering NASA has next to no money and can only get astronauts into space by bumming rides off the Russians.

[Delphi]

Didn't we stop hitchhiking with the Russians after the whole Ukraine thing escalated? Or am I totally off base?

Maybe its time to let the civilian contractors like SpaceX have a real shot. Maybe crazy rich people will invest in them.

Hell I don't have a clue how to fix the mess that is the US space program.

[Selena]

Probably comprehensive financial reform and maximizing the efficiency of our entire federal budget. That's possible, right.....?

 

 

 

 

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[Veteran]

All those with designs on going to Mars will be long dead before anyone gets to Mars. So I prophesy.

 

 

Regarding the picture, I didn't look at the suit, I saw how good a job Arnie did of releasing Mars' atmosphere.

[SteveT]

Can we please replace the phrase "3D Printer" with "Replicator"?  Honestly...

[Egann]

I honestly expect this is mostly PR. "We're totally working on this stuff even though the shuttles are done." Still, it has some really interesting implications.

 

First, the extensive use of 3D printing doesn't exactly imply on-site resource utilization, but that's clearly NASA's end-game. That's huge because it means that unlike our brief excursions on the moon, the infrastructure we would deliver to Mars to support the exploration teams would likely also be the infrastructure needed to support a colony. 

 

The more I think about radiation, the less concerned I am about it, at least in terms of the long term effects of living on Mars. I don't see any craft going from Earth to Mars with a crew on board without a beefy nuclear reactor, probably two. Currently, our space program basically lives off bottled air, but if you are going to spend weeks or months in space you have to recycle the Carbon Dioxide back into Oxygen. You just can't carry enough air to do anything else. There are a lot of ways to do that, and pretty much none of them can be done on photo-voltaics. That, and the engines probably would require power constantly, too. Chemical rockets aren't powerful enough, so NASA will likely opt for one of those new-fangled Xenon-ion drives they intend to capture an asteroid with. Again, that stuff requires power, and lots of it. If you've got the multiple gigawatt reactor you need to recycle the air and power the engine, making a big electromagnet to replace Earth's magnetic field would probably not be a huge deal.

 

Once you're on Mars, you have a much simpler solution: dig a hole and live in that. The major concern in my mind is the acute exposure from walking around on the surface, which--let's not kid ourselves--will be substantial.