NASA'S Next Generation Of Spacesuit &Nbsp; Co Ordinate Lunar And Mars Exploration.

NASA said in the space exploration program titled "constellation" that the new design will allow astronauts to work outside the ISS and is suitable for Mars.

Terry Hill, aerospace project manager at Johnson Space Center, said: "the current spacesuit can not meet all our needs.

We have a brand new design that has never been done before.

NASA has put forward a plug and play spacesuit design. The same arm, legs, boots and helmets can be installed on different trunk of the space suit.

"This is a reconfigurable spacesuit."

Hill said.

NASA has signed a contract of $500 million with a 6 and a half year contract with Houston, the international ocean engineering company, to design and develop spacesuit for constellation.

The international ocean engineering company, which has been manufacturing deep-sea exploration equipment, has cooperated with David Clark of Massachusetts.

David Clark has been developing spacesuit for NASA since the 60s of last century.

At present, American astronauts need two different types of spacesuit.

The first set is for space shuttle launches and lifts.

The spacesuit made of this fabric is soft enough to help astronauts cope with the cold water when they lose pressure or when landing on the sea, and can also regulate the temperature of astronauts.

The whole system also includes a life-saving device, an emergency oxygen supply system and a landing device, which can help astronauts escape when landing accidents.

The astronaut's current second sets of space suits are extravehicular activities.

When astronauts leave space or space stations to perform space missions, such as installing solar panels for space stations or repairing activities, they need to wear this spacesuit.

The spacesuit has a strong upper trunk with multi-layer materials to protect astronauts from micro meteorites and radiation hazards, as well as temperature regulation systems, life support systems and communication systems.

Its weight is more than 300 pounds, and its legs are limited in mobility. When astronauts perform tasks outside the cabin, legs are usually locked by foot fixtures.

For example, when Apollo landed on the moon, astronauts were forced to jump like rabbits.

"When we first landed on the moon, we just managed to get there.

Now, astronauts need to explore the surface of the moon, discover resources, and do scientific research.

Daniel Barry said.

He is vice president and R & D director of David Clark, and is also the head of the Constellation program space suit project.

The new spacesuit will consist of two sets of configurations.

The first configuration is similar to the current spaceflight escape suit and is designed for emergency launch and return and zero gravity conditions.

The spacesuit is relatively soft, allowing astronauts to move freely when they lose pressure or need to abandon their cabin.

The current spacesuit will harden if pressed.

But for the new space suit of the constellation, the Barry team disposes the special material panel in the space suit joints (shoulders, elbows, knees) to keep the space uniform of the spacesuit and ensure the astronauts move easily.

Engineers at David Clark are also developing breathable spacesuit materials, making them more comfortable than traditional urethane or neoprene coated nylon fabrics.

The second configuration of the constellation spacesuit will be used for "hiking" on the moon. It uses the same arms, legs, boots and helmets as the first suit.

These components can quickly connect to a new reinforced trunk.

The trunk is equipped with life support systems, electronic systems and communication systems.

Astronauts will also wear a special coat to protect them from the harsh lunar environment, including micro meteorites.

Engineers are also developing reinforced materials to deal with very small lunar dust. NASA has learned through the Apollo plan that this problem may cause trouble and danger to astronauts.

The new design will remove a lot of hard ingredients, which make the traditional spacesuit very heavy and may cause damage to astronauts on barbaric landing.

Engineers switched to using a lightweight hybrid structure.

In addition, astronauts will be able to wear clothes quickly through the zippers in the back of the spacesuit.

The current spacesuit is made up of two pieces, which takes about three hours to wear and needs help from others to piece together.

Barry said modular spacesuit production is cheaper, reducing the weight of launch and the complexity of logistics.

Hill said that the first completed spacesuit will be tested in September this year. The final design will be completed by 2013, and will meet the flight needs in 2015.

In addition, the lunar spacesuit will also introduce OLED display and computer systems, which will run like a node on the Internet and send data back to earth.

The technology review said that in the next few weeks, the Obama administration will make decisions on the future of us manned spaceflight, which will have an important impact on the direction of the constellation plan.

Hill said: "our bottom line is that as long as we plan to carry out tasks that are controlled by people, we will need new space suits."

He also said that the modular design of the new space suit is based on this consideration. "If they want to skip the moon and go directly to Mars, our design concept will not change."