Is Buzz Lightyear helpful?
The prototype of NASA’s Z-1 spacesuit, released a decade ago, looks just like the alien boyfriends of the iconic space ranger in the Toy Story franchise. Until the project is no longer implemented, contractors have access to its development history to create their own future spacesuits for the agency, including moon missions.
The green-striped Z-1 suit was tested in 2012 to assess how well futuristic spacesuits can perform with a “softer” look. It’s worth a look at what happened to this outfit, like the new Disney movie. “Light year‘goes to theaters from Friday (June 15).
The Z-1 was a test suit designed to increase mobility during superficial space travel to make it a little easier for astronauts to bend and twist from what they found while wearing Apollo-era spacesuits in the 60’s and the 70s of the last century.
“Increased mobility has been achieved through innovation in the shoulder and hip joints, using a number of new bearings that allow space suit wearers to dive, walk and bend with ease, all important tasks for a planetary researcher collecting samples or traveling on uneven terrain, ”NASA said in 2012.
Connected: The best time travel movies
The upper torso was much softer than previous versions of the suit, and astronauts could enter the suit using a spaceport, a design that allows the astronaut to climb back into the suit from a vehicle. The suit remains attached outside the vehicle, reducing the need for storage and reducing dust.
The Z-1 was never designed for space, but was tested in a vacuum chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. However, the team decided to make some key changes after finding that increased mobility forced the small size of the torso.
The problem of sealing was also a problem, the agency said in 2012. “Suit test work also gave NASA engineers important experience in putting on a suit that is already under pressure, which turned out to be harder than expected, but was improved. from the addition of dressing aids. “
By 2014, NASA had prepared some key changes to a new prototype known as the Z-2. Sporting in a variety of colors, the Z-2 also had a hard composite upper torso to increase endurance, as well as improved shoulder joints, hips and boots, the agency said. at the time (opens in a new tab).
“The Z-2 prototype included a number of Z-1 enhancements, including improved upper and lower mobility, to allow astronauts to walk on uneven terrain, kneel and lift objects and rise from a lying position, all activities required for Future Z-2 research missions also include weight reduction technologies and a composite upper torso, said the Office of the NASA Chief Inspector in Report for 2021 (opens in a new tab) on the Agency ‘s space suits, which include a review of the history of prototype development.
The Z-2, along with two separate efforts by NASA to develop a spacesuit since 2007, did not result in any working ready-made space suits until the OIG published its report. The Advanced Spacesuit project, which included the Z-1 and Z-2 prototypes, ended operations in 2016, according to the OIG.
After three agencies project for spacesuits stopped and contributed to the delay in Artemis’ missions, NASA eventually turned to the private sector to provide lunar spacesuits. The astronauts will return to the moon later in 2020 if the agency’s funding and plans go as expected.
Teams led by Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace (with ILC Dover as the main contributor) gain access to a contract worth up to $ 3.5 billion for delivery spacesuits for future NASA missions until 2034, agency officials announced on June 1.
These anticipated missions include Artemis’ flights to the moon, and performers will have access to the agency’s spacesuit development library to help with their own spacesuit readiness. So it may be that the Z-2 informs some of the designs that end up on the moon.
For more space movies, see our full list of upcoming science fiction movies.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) and so on Facebook (opens in a new tab).
