MIT Professor Develops Form-Fitting Space Suit, Is Dreaming Of Mars

Modern space suits are large and bulky, heavy, and difficult to move in, but that could be coming to an end in the relatively near future. MIT professor Dava Newman has developed a form-fitting space suit that eliminates most of the bulk, as well as the problems associated with current suits. As a result, the job of astronauts becomes easier, and they can concentrate on the task at hand.

Newman and her team of designers made the nearly skin-tight suit so that it can easily be moved around in, allowing astronauts to not only get around with less hassle, but also enter places they otherwise wouldn't be able to with the large suits currently in use. There's another big advantage to the form-fitting suit, as well — it's safer.

The so-called biosuit can easily be patched by the wearer if it becomes damaged using a "high tech ace bandage." The bandage would be wrapped around the ripped or punctured part of the suit, which would seal off the leak and allow the astronaut to continue on his or her mission. Compare this to current space suits, in which a puncture could result in fatal decompression.

For more information, check out the video above. According to Newman, the white portion of the material is elastic in nature, while the black lines work as a sort of skeleton for the suit. Says Newman, she would love to see humans walking around on Mars wearing the space suit, and that it has other applications as well.

[via Space Industry News]