Suited for Spacewalking An Activity Guide for Technology Education, Mathematics, and Science, EG-1998-03-112-HQ • 4 3

Activities–Designing Spacesuits for Mars

Technology Education, Science, and Mathematics
Introduction:

The steps spacesuit engineers and technicians followed in achieving a goal of creating reliable spacesuit systems for exploration of the surface of the

Moon and for construction and maintenance work

in Earth orbit were the same as those used in nearly every technological endeavor:

Challenge

Design and construct a protective garment that will

permit humans to venture safely into outer space

and perform work.

Research

Investigate the environment in which the garment

will be worn and determine what protective measures must be employed.

Management

Organize the effort into teams that design suit subs ystems and investigate and select appro p ri a t e

materials and technologies.

Fabricate Prototypes

Construct and assemble suit subsystems into the

completed garment.

Evaluate 

Test the garment in a simulated space environment

and make modifications where needed.

Manufacture 

Construct operational spacesuits.

Ongoing Evaluation 

Continue refining spacesuit subsystems to improve

efficiency, reliability, versatility, and safety while

lowering costs.

The pages that follow outline a multifaceted technology education activity on spacesuits. This activity, designed for an entire class to work on as a

team, combines skills and content from science,

mathematics, and technology. The challenge is to

design and build a full-scale wearable model spacesuit to be used to explore the surface of Mars. Since

no human expeditions to Mars are planned for

many years, actual Martian spacesuits have not yet

been built and there are no "right" answers.

Consequently, this activity permits students to participate in "leading edge" research.

The overview of the activity is contained in a

Design Brief format. It begins with a title and a

context statement (introduction) and is followed by

a challenge to create a Martian spacesuit. This is

followed by information on materials, equipment,

procedures, and evaluation. The success of the

activity depends upon how well the students organize their work and communicate with each other.

A computer with project software can be used to

monitor the progress of the project or a flow chart

can be constructed on a chalk or bulletin board. As

an added aid to communication, Interface Control

Documents (ICD) are created as systems are

designed.(Reproducible master on page 49. Sample

4 4 • Suited for Spacewalking An Activity Guide for Technology Education, Mathematics, and Science, EG- 1 9 9 8 - 0 3 - 1 1 2 - H Q

Technology Education is a multi-disciplinary subject combining mathematics,

science, and technology.
Suited for Spacewalking An Activity Guide for Technology Education, Mathematics, and Science, EG-1998-03-112-HQ • 4 5

document on page 50.) These documents are completed by the teams. Critical details about systems,

such as size, shape, and function, are recorded on

the form. The form has a grid where diagrams can

be made. ICD forms are then placed in a notebook

and made available to all teams as a coordination

tool. An ICD master is provided.

If desired, the project can be divided among several

classes (or even several schools) which will each

have to work together. This is the way major NASA

projects are divided between contractors and subcontractors located across the country.

To support the activity, a coll e c t i on of Te a cher Te ch

B ri e fs (TTB) are incl u d e d . These bri e fs prov i d e

s u g g e s t i ons for your use when guiding students in

a c c omplishing their tasks. For example, if student

teams con clude that high-speed part i cles (microm et e o roids) are a problem in the Martian env i ron m e n t ,

plans are provided for a device that measures impact

damage to materi a l s .TTBs are not intended as "blue

p rints" for students to use. Ra t h e r, t h ey prov i d e

i n f o rm a t i on on one of many ways in which the task

can be accom p l i s h e d . Students will build an impact

test stand of their own design.TTBs aid you in facilitating the students' ideas. Fo ll owing the TTBs is a

s e c t i on on spacesuit testing apparatus used at the

NASA Joh n s on Space Center. The apparatus are

" one of a kind" devices created by foll owing the

same design process students will use.

Exploration Briefs (EBs) are suggestions for activities that can be used to help students understand

the nature of the environment for which they are

designing a spacesuit. They provide background

information and instructions for simple demonstrations and experiments that may be tried. A "bank"

of additional ideas follow the EBs.

The guide concludes with appendices that list

re s o u rc e s , s u ch as NASA publica t i ons and Intern e t

web sites,w h e re students can obtain more inform a t i on

to help them in their re s e a rch and deve l o pment work .
Design Brief

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C o n t ex t :

Spacesuits are one of the important enabling technologies that have permitted humans to explore outer

s p a c e .To surv i ve the hostile env i ron m e n t , humans had to be cove red with a pro t e c t i ve shell as they exited their spacecra ft . This shell contained a part of Earth's surface env i ronment while remaining flexible

and impervious to the unique haza rd s , s u ch as high-speed part i cle impacts, e n c o u n t e red there .T h e s e

re q u i rements meant that engineers and technicians had to spend long hours investigating and selecting

a p p ro p riate materi a l s , finding ways of fabri cating and joining suit parts together, and providing opera ting pre s s u re, p ow e r, and com mu n i ca t i ons while assembling a garment that was tough but flexible. T h e

task was ach i eved with such great success that astronauts and cosmonauts have safe ly conducted thousands of hours of extra vehicular activity.

C h a ll e n g e :

Design and build a pro t e c t i ve garment that will permit future space tra velers to explore the surface of

M a r s . The garment must protect the person inside from the haza rds of the Martian env i ronment while

remaining com f o rtable to wear. E xc u r s i ons on the surface will nom i n a lly last 8 hours, but the garm e n t

w i ll have to function as long as 10 hours in emergency situation s . The garment must be flexible enough

to enable the wearer to walk up to 10 kilom e t e r s ,c o llect geologic samples, and operate a vari e ty of tools

and experimental appara t u s . Fu rt h e rm o re, the garment's design must be rugged enough to perm i t

repeated use and be able to be serviced simply and quick ly. A l ong with the garm e n t , design a coll e c t i on

of geologic sampling tools,s u ch as ro ck hammers, and a general set of tools for assembly and repair activi t i e s . These tools should be easy to use while wearing the pro t e c t i ve garm e n t , be safe and ru g g e d , a n d

i n t e rface with a general purpose tool ca r rier that must also be designed.

Pro c e d u r e s :

Select subcontractor teams to design and construct each of the garment's components, such as the

helmet or gloves. Teams will coordinate their work with each other as materials for and sizes of the

components are selected.

M a t e ri a l s :

Use whatever materials you find to con s t ruct the garment's com p on e n t s .Test these materials to ensure

t h ey will surv i ve the Martian env i ron m e n t . Existing tools can be modified for use on Mars.

E v a l u a ti o n :

C onduct periodic team ev a l u a t i ons of the pro g ress of the garment and tool design pro c e s s . When all

c om p onents are com p l e t e d ,i n t e g rate them for a full test in a simulated Martian env i ron m e n t .E v a l u a t e

the garment and tools on the basis of the cri t e ria presented in the context section .
Interface Control Document

System Name: Team Members

Project No.

Date: Rev. No.

Page Of

Briefly explain how this system functions.
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I n t e rface Con t rol Documents are a com mu n i ca t i on tool that helps the various Martian Su rface Explora t i on

Suit design teams to coordinate with each other. This sample shows a design for a space helmet. The team

w o rking on the upper torso will learn from this document how large the con n e c t i on with the helmet has to be.

SCALE: 1:5 MASS: 5 kg POWER REQUIREMENTS: 6 volts

SAMPLE

Neck ring - 25 cm in diameter

Helmet - 40 cm in diameter

Sun Visor

Lights (3)

Window

Interface Control Document

System Name: Space Helmet Team Members

Project No. 8 Peter

Date: Nov. 22, 1997 Rev. No. 4 Kiesha

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