It’s a $750,000,000 contract, and this is what they’ve got? Come on, Oceaneering International. You could have whipped up a cool-looking prototype out of surgical tubing and PVC in the time it took to make those artist’s conceptions.
The new suits are being developed for the next major moon mission, Constellation. They’re rejiggering everything from the suits to the mode of transportation (bye bye shuttle) and this is the first look at the new space gear.
Configuration 1, left, is for takeoff, landing, and occasional spacewalks.
Configuration 2, middle, is optimized for walking around on the moon (resistant to moon rocks).
Configuration 3, on the right, is for after the moon base is left undisturbed for years and the astronauts revert to savage infighting and genetic modification.
[via New Scientist]