Wearing a spacesuit is definitely no fun at all, especially if you are one who feels claustrophobic. Well, it seems that there is a new generation of spacesuits that are in the making, where engineers over at Kansas State University are hard at work, developing a prototype suit which is able to monitor an astronaut’s vital signs through the provision of power to integrated electronic components. The thing about this prototype spacesuit that makes it extra special is this – power is obtained from the astronaut’s body heat, now how about that for innovation?
The new prototype spacesuit happens to be a replica of the spacesuit that is used in the discontinued space shuttle program. Batteries happen to be too dangerous to use with spacesuits due to the amount of oxygen generated, so body heat is an ingenious method when it comes to an alternative energy source, don’t you think so? There will also be sensors embedded within that will measure just how one’s body changes when one is in space, and the data recorded include one’s pulse rate, blood oxygen levels, and respiration. Could such developments actually usher in a new era of space exploration? Perhaps this advancement might eventually see the light of day when humankind populate the Red Planet. [Press Release]