Spacesuit-Mars Working Group
Draft
The Spacesuit-Mars Working Group has met twice during the 5th Mars Society Convention and has decided to continue as an organization. Our new draft Purposes and Mission Statement (subject to approval by the whole working group) is as follows:
The purpose of the Spacesuit-Mars Working Group is to develop and demonstrate key technologies for eventual use for a real Mars spacesuit by pursuing tightly-focused, low-cost projects in the context of the analog spacesuit program.
Whereas existing spacesuits are inadequate to the task of exploring Mars, the mission of the Spacesuit-Mars Working Group is to organize and direct its members to perform useful and productive work towards the development of technologies useful for a real Mars spacesuit.
The strategy of the Spacesuit-Mars Working Group is to develop an overall plan to identify the essential technologies for a Mars suit, prioritize those technologies, and, over time, develop them for demonstration at one of the analog Mars Research Stations. We will seek cooperation from NASA, industry, and universities to leverage our capabilities and to seek funding to enable our work.
Our approach will be to develop the components of a spacesuit design that will separate the breathing helmet from the pressurized suit. This design has the advantage of being similar to existing and historical spacesuits in that it is a pressurized suit and an evolutionary design. Unlike Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) suits, the “bifurcated spacesuit” will be based on a well-accepted model. It will also have the advantage of being able to use the indigenous Martian atmosphere to pressurize the lower half of the suit, therefore saving oxygen, a precious commodity on Mars, and greatly extending the survival time of the astronaut if the suit is damaged. Although MCP suits do have several advantages over traditional pressure suits, they face an uphill battle in gaining acceptance among the spacesuit technology establishment.
We have identified the following key technologies for the bifurcated spacesuit:
We plan to attack the issues over a 3-year time period by initially developing and demonstrating the pressurized bifurcated spacesuit one piece at a time, starting with the torso, then addressing the body. Two options exist for pressurizing the torso, (1) open loop and (2) closed loop. Since open loop is much simpler, we will address it first. The idea is to develop a means for pressurizing ambient air into a gas bottle and using the gas bottle to force air into the torso of the suit, with a simple outlet valve. In parallel with this, there is a necessity to develop an air dam or face seal to prevent escape of breathing gas from the helmet into the suit torso and leakage of the torso pressurization gas into the helmet. We will engage the use of existing technology wherever possible since air dams are already used in diving and other applications. Detection of leakage for the initial concept prototype will be accomplished by placing perfume in the body of the suit and sensing its presence by the wearer in the helmet.
Development of the breathing gas system for the helmet will follow satisfactory demonstration of the body ventilation/pressurization system, both on a prototype suit and at an analog research station. Rebreather technologies already available for diving, firefighting, etc. will be tested in the breathing helmet demonstrator to reduce costs and development time. Once the basic feasibility is established in an unpressurized or slightly pressurized prototype, we will address more realistic pressure differentials and incorporate a method to be determined to pressurize the prototype and show system functionality. The primary milestones will be demonstration of hardware during EVAs at the analog stations. The gas flow through the torso of an analog suit is expected to be beneficial to the analog suit program by providing cooling and ventilation to the body of the suit, especially for the MDRS.
Concurrent with the technology development efforts, we will seek donations, both in cash and in-kind equipment from NASA, industry, and universities. We have already identified the following potential allies/donors:
We will approach Richard Fullerton about a CAN proposal, seeking his approval and guidance. Our approach will be to demonstrate spacesuit technologies not yet available, on a manageable and inexpensive scale. We will point out the advantages of tying into the existing analog Mars program as a ready method of testing equipment. If approved we will contact university programs in the spacesuit area requesting their participation and contributions. We will also ask Chris Gilman, a known supporter of the Mars Society, for help as well, especially in the areas of machining, production, and appearance.
Although a low-cost project, we will need significant Mars Society volunteer efforts in the following areas:
Tony Muscatello (tonymuscatello@attbi.com) has volunteered to be the acting project manager until a replacement is found. Larry Kuznetz will be the technical mentor of the group.
The draft plan is as follows:
Month 1-2: Finalize strategic plan Final Plan
Draft requirements document Req. Document
Month 3-4: Finalize req. doc. Final Requirements
Month 5-6: Design pressurization system System design drawings
Develop fund raising plan Financial Plan
Month 7-8: Develop equipment list List
Initial fund raising List of contacts/results
Month 9-10: Assemble Team Joint team players identified
and on board
Start equipment manufacturing 50% complete
Month 11-12 Complete assembly and integrate into Complete assembly
Prototype suit
Month 13-14 Test Prototype Suit Test plan complete
Month 15-16 Integrate into analog suit Integrated pressurization
system
Month 17-18 Test at Analog Station Testing complete
Month 19-20 Design helmet breathing system Helmet design document
(Etc.)
[Need to add 3-year timeline showing Phase I (low pressure)/Phase II (higher pressure) and budget breakdown.]