Crowdsourcing a New Spacesuit Design
Here’s a bit of crowdsourcing fun for your weekend. Help NASA by taking part in its crowdsourcing initiative to pick the design of a new spacesuit.
The space agency has selected three design options for the cover layer of the next-generation spacesuit platform. The style that garners the most votes may be tested on future astronauts.
The three designs are:
Biomimicry – inspired by oceans and marine life, particularly creatures at depth that have bioluminescent qualities. This suit has an electroluminescent wire pattern that becomes visible in the dark.
Technology – makes use of Luminex wire and light-emitting patches.
Trends in society – a design influenced by futuristic sportswear.
The winning selection could be used as part of NASA’s Z-2 Suit, the newest prototype in its next-generation spacesuit platform, the Z-series.
According to NASA, the Z-2 achieves a number of milestones:
• First use of 3D human laser scans and 3D-printed hardware for suit development and sizing.
• First integration of the suit-port concept with a hard upper torso suit structure.
• Most conformal and re-sizeable hard upper torso suit built to date.
To find out more about the next generation spacesuit and to cast your vote, click here.
Votes can be cast through to April 15, 2014 at 11:59pm EDT.
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