Testing Spacesuit Fabrics for Mars

The Department of Space Studies at UND is working with the University of Florida on an experiment that can bring insights into how the conditions on Mars will affect spacesuit fabrics. Dr. Andrew Schuerger from the University of Florida developed a Mars environmental chamber that simulates the pressure, temperature, atmospheric composition, and radiation on the planet. Dr. Schuerger and Dr. Pablo de León are exposing different spacesuit fabrics to these conditions to study the effects of the harsh environment on the multiple layers of a suit. Included in the samples are not only current spacesuit materials, such as the ones used right now in the ISS, but also the new materials used as part of the 3D printed spacesuit project spearheaded at the Human Spaceflight Laboratory at UND. This research will help to understand more about how the Mars conditions affect these materials.