Posted September 23, 2014

 

By Seshadri Ramkumar

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – Muscle coil-like stretchable garments made with the help of shape memory alloys may be the space suits for next generation astronauts.

 

Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers are a step closer to develop active “second-skin” space suits. According to MIT, Dava Newman, a professor of aeronautics, and her collaborators have developed active spring-like coils made from shape memory alloys (SMA) that can be used as compression garments that find applications in space suits.

 

The SMA-based, skintight space suits overcome the major drawback in earlier versions of pressurized suits. These SMA materials contract when heated and recover back when cooled. These suits are not dependent on pressurized gas and can be activated with mechanical and electrical pulses. This makes the suit light in weight and would give more freedom for astronauts to move in the outer space during planetary exploration.

 

By plugging into power supply of the spacecraft, the SMA coils contract when heated with the help of electrical power, giving second-skin like atmosphere and resulting in lightweight, skintight suits. By applying slight mechanical pressure, the compressed suits relax.

 

The SMA coil design was conceived by Bradley Holschuh, a post-doctoral fellow in Newman’s lab at MIT. According to Holschuh, this design can be used in developing athletic wears and military uniforms. The research at MIT was funded by NASA and MIT Portugal program.
 

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar is professor of Countermeasures to Chemical and Biological Threats, Nonwovens & Advanced Materials at Texas Tech.