Although the speed of technological development has been quite rapid today, when exploring the vast universe, human beings can only "feel the stones and cross the river".
In March 2019, everyone was looking forward to the realization of the "All-Female Spacewalk" program previously announced by NASA . Scheduled for March 29, female astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will perform a second set of battery replacements on different power channels in the same area of the space station.
Left: Anne McClain, Right: Christina Koch, Image: NASA
Soon after, however, NASA announced that it had made changes to the original plan, with male astronaut Nick Hague working with Christina Koch on a battery replacement mission. Many of the expected "all-female spacewalks" have not materialized, and NASA says that part of the reason is the lack of spacesuits on the space station.
Christina Koch on an outgoing mission, image from NASA
More precisely, the space station is not enough spacesuits suitable for female astronaut sizes. There is only one medium-sized spacesuit on the space station, and while the parts of the spacesuit can be replaced, it can take up to 12 hours, so to avoid mission delays, only one female astronaut has the right equipment to perform the mission.
Left: Nick Hague, Center: Christina Koch, Right: Anne McClain, Image: NASA
In fact, Anne McClain has already carried out a mission to go out of the capsule, but due to the difference between the space environment and the ground environment, McClain found that the medium size spacesuit was suitable for her when she was on a mission in space, so only male astronauts could replace her and Koch to complete the task.
Anne McClain on an outgoing mission, image from NASA
In this way, the high-profile "all-female spacewalk" was not successfully realized due to the absurd and helpless reason of insufficient clothing.
It was also this mission that exposed problems in the design of spacesuits. Women make up only about 11 percent of the people currently in space, so on a limited budget, spacesuits are commonly sized or oversized, and there is not enough clothing for female astronauts.
As a result, NASA is developing the next generation of spacesuits, with one of the key points being the hope of adapting to a more diverse community of astronauts.
Image courtesy of YouTube
To make the concept a reality, NASA funds related projects through the NIAC (Innovative Advanced Concepts) program. Bonnie Dunbar's "Making Custom High-Performance Spacesuits for Exploring Mars" is one such project.
Dunbar, a professor of aerospace engineering, was also an astronaut. In the professor's vision, there is a desire to leverage digital analysis components, from digital scanning to digital design/analysis to robotic manufacturing, where 3D manufacturing techniques are also needed.
Image courtesy of NASA
If this vision is realized, then extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits can be designed and manufactured quickly and can be applied to crew members in any gravity environment. And during space, astronauts can also carry out on-site manufacturing or repair.
In NASA's vision of the NIAC program, an astronaut walks into a body scanner and, a few hours later, walks on Mars in a custom-made spacesuit. Hopefully, this day will come soon.
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