NewDelhi: With American space agency NASA running out of fully functional spacesuits, astronauts might have to face a crunch in deep-space missions.
The spacesuits NASA astronauts currently in use on the International Space Station (ISS) – known as Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU) – were developed more than 40 years ago and have far outlasted their original 15-year design life.
While each suit has been refurbished over the years, with new features like glove warmers, improved helmet cameras and lights added, they have suffered an increasing number of problems, such as water leaking inside the helmets.
Early this year, NASA revealed the new spacesuit designed for astronauts who will be heading into orbit aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which weighs about 20 pounds with all its accessories – about 10 pounds lighter than the launch-and-entry suits worn by space shuttle astronauts.
The first image was shared by Musk on Instagram in late August, which focused on the head and shoulders of the outfit, depicting the full tinted face mask of the helmet, and the angular shoulders and black and white design.
The new one – also shared on Instagram – shows off the firm’s full spacesuit design for the first time, in front of the spacecraft it hopes will send NASA astronauts to the space station in 2018.
The spacesuit looks more comfortable and light-weight than the ones in use at present. However, These suits aren’t designed for extra-vehicular activity (EVA) after all – they’re created to protect the astronauts while they’re in the capsule, and when moving over to other vehicles (like the ISS) under pressurized conditions, rather than being exposed to vacuum, TechCrunch reported.
It features accents and lines that make it more stylish than current designs. According to the Daily Mail, it is believed the suit was designed by Marvel and DC movie legend Jose Fernandez and Musk has previously admitted that it is ‘incredibly hard’ to balance the look and its function.
SpaceX has been flying cargo capsules to the ISS for three years.
The company is due to launch its first crewed mission with NASA in June next year.
Check out Elon Musk’s posts revealing the new look!
Bureau Report
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