@PopularMechanics _ July/August
201969
L
ifeS
upport^B
ackpackContainscompressed^oxygenanda^pump^tocirculate^ liquid^through^ thesuit’s^cooling^ system.^ T
hepackislow- s
lung,^providing^ alowercenterof^ gravitythaninthe^ Apollopacks,^whichcausedastro-nauts^ to^fall,^saysPablo^deLeón,Ph.D.,^directorof^ theHumanSpaceflightLabora-toryatUniversityof^North^Dakota.^
Environmental^P
rotection^G
armentEachspeck^ of^ lunar^dustand^ rock^ is^ sharpand^ abrasivebecause^there’s^ no^ waterero-siontobuff^ theedges.^So,^ for^ thesuit’s^ outerlayers,^ robustfabricswillbeinfused^ withtough^ coatingstopro-tectthe^ innermobility^garment.^ Researchersare^ alsodevising^ways^ to^ deal^ withthe^vasttemperatureswingsonthe^ moon’ssurface—froma^ high^of260 °F^ in^ sunlighttoa^ lowofminus280 °F.^A^likely^ solution:^layersofaluminized^ Mylarand^ aerogelstoreducethermaltransferonthe^ fabric.^
J
o
in
ts
Apollosuitsusedcablesand^ pulleystohelpastronautslift^ their^limbs.^ P
rototypesuitsfeature^ a3 -bearing^ shoulder,^ dual-axiswaist,^ hipswivel,^ andbreak^ line^ at^ thebackofthe^ knee^ to^ providemuch^ greaterrange^ of^ motion^ than^ theApollosuitshad.H
owto^G
etI
nto^aM
oon^S
uitYou’ll^ step^ into^ it,^ slippingintothe^ legs^ andtorso^ of^ theEMU^ frombehind.^ T
hat’sfairly^easytodo.^ G
etting^ outis^another^ story:^ Whileattempting^ to^ wriggle^their^ bodies^ outofthe^lowerportion^ during^tests,^astronautsfound^ that^ thesuit’s^kneeand^ anklejoints“actedasa^ Chinesefinger^ trap,trappingthem.”^ Solution:Engineers^ designed^a^ “bootjack,”^ similar^tothe^ kind^ that^ helpsyou^ take^ off^ cowboy^boots,^ to^ restrain^ theheels^ andkeepthe^ suit^ina^ straight- le
ggedposition,widening^ thepathfor^ legsand^ feet.^ILLUSTRATIONBY^JAMES^GILLEARD