Title: Crew Protection, Contingency EVA and the Crew Exploration Vehicle
text: The proposed NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) has been labeled “not as a repetition of Apollo, but instead what Apollo should have been.” While this designation is certainly ripe for debate, there is no debating that the space suit community has, up to this point, had limited or no input into the on-going design of the CEV. However, it is important that the community take the opportunity to influence the configuration of the proposed CEV so as to optimize its orbital and planetary/lunar EVA capability, flexibility and safety. This “window of opportunity” will not remain open for long, as the CEV’s configuration is rapidly congealing. This paper covers: 1. Brief space suit configurations, employment and history. 2. Brief descriptions and comparisons of IVA, EVA and IEVA space suits. 3. How history can be a guide to optimize EVA for the Crew Exploration Vehicle.