The Z series is a series of prototype

extra-vehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

(EVA) space suits being developed in the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU) project under NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program. The suits are being designed to be used for both

micro-gravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

and

planetary Planetary means relating to a planet or planets. It can also refer to: ;Science * Planetary habitability, the measure of an astronomical body's potential to develop and sustain life * Planetary nebula, an astronomical object ;People * Planetary ...

EVAs. Along with a NASA designed life support system, the new higher pressure Z suits allow for bypassing pre-breathe and allows for quick donning of the suit and exit of the space craft. The Z-1 is the first suit to be successfully integrated into a

suitport A suitport or suitlock is an alternative technology to an airlock, designed for use in hazardous environments and in human spaceflight, especially planetary surface exploration. Suitports present advantages over traditional airlocks in terms of ...

dock mechanism eliminating the need for an air lock, and reducing the consumable demands on long term missions. A later variant is planned to be tested on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

in 2017.Popsci
The Deep-Space Suit
Retrieved on 2012-12-21.

Versions

Z-1

The Z-1 suit consists of a soft upper torso, soft lower torso, glove assembly, boot assembly and hemispherical dome helmet. Z-1 is called a "soft" suit because when unpressurized its primary structures are pliable fabrics, although it does have several hard mobility elements. The suit has a mass of , with the suitport interface plate (SIP) it is , and with the SIP and portable life support system (PLSS) mock-up it is . The Z-1 prototype was designed and built by

ILC Dover ILC Dover, LP is a special engineering development and manufacturing company, globally headquartered in Newark, Delaware. ILC Dover specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace, personal protection, and ...

for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

.Delaware Business Daily
Z-1 Top Tech
Retrieved on 2012-12-21. The Z-1 was named one of

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

’s Best inventions of the year for 2012.Best Inventions 2012
NASA’s Z-1 Space Suit
. Retrieved on 2012-12-21. Because of its unique neon green colored stripes on the arms and legs, the suit has entered popular culture as the "

Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is the main character in the ''Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar mainly voiced by Tim Allen. He is a Superhero toy action figure based on the in-universe media franchise consisting of a blockbuster feature fi ...

Suit" for sharing the color worn by the character in the

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

movie

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's fi ...

. NASA has been running a series of tests on the Z-1. According to a NASA report there have been two parts of the testing 1) characterize the suit performance to down selection of components for the planned Z -2 Space Suit and 2) “develop interfaces with the suitport and exploration vehicles through pressurized suit evaluations.” NASA Technical Reports Server
Z-1 Prototype Space Suit Testing Summary
Retrieved on 2012-12-21. Image:Z-1 Spacesuit Prototype - kneeling Nov 2012.jpg, Z-1 Spacesuit Prototype - kneeling demonstration (November 2012) Image:Suitport testing - Z1.jpg ,

Suitport A suitport or suitlock is an alternative technology to an airlock, designed for use in hazardous environments and in human spaceflight, especially planetary surface exploration. Suitports present advantages over traditional airlocks in terms of ...

tests with the Z-1 suit Image:Z-1 suit test during parabolic flight.jpg , Z-1 suit being tested during a

parabolic flight A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NAS ...

Z-2

Both ILC Dover and David Clark competed for the $4.4 million contract to design, manufacture and test the Z-2 prototype space suit. In April 2013, it was announced that ILC Dover had won; the contract is expected to last for an 18-month period. The Z-2 will use a non-autoclave hard composite upper torso; it is believed this will improve its long-term durability. The design of the shoulder and hip has been improved based on Z-1 testing. The Z-2 will use higher fidelity boots along with materials that are compatible with a full vacuum environment. The suit is expected to have a mass of . The Z-2 will be designed to interface with NASA's advanced portable life support system, currently under development at the Johnson Space Center. The suit will also be designed to interface with both classical air locks and

suit port A suitport or suitlock is an alternative technology to an airlock, designed for use in hazardous environments and in human spaceflight, especially planetary surface exploration. Suitports present advantages over traditional airlocks in terms of m ...

s. The Z-2 prototype suit was expected to be delivered to NASA by November 2014 with a

technology readiness level Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. TRLs enable consistent and uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology. TR ...

of 7 but was delayed until spring 2015. Final delivery and testing in a human-rated vacuum chamber and the

Neutral Buoyancy Lab The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) is an astronaut training facility and neutral buoyancy pool operated by NASA and located at the Sonny Carter Training Facility, near the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The NBL's main feature is a la ...

is expected in 2018-2019. This is leading up to a human-rated thermal/vacuum chamber test of the suit with its PLSS in 2020.

Portable life support system

The Next Generation Life Support (NGLS) project is developing components that are planned to be part of the

portable life support system A primary (or portable or personal) life support system (or subsystem) (PLSS), is a device connected to an astronaut or cosmonaut's spacesuit, which allows extra-vehicular activity with maximum freedom, independent of a spacecraft's life support ...

(PLSS). Two of those components are the Variable Oxygen Regulator (VOR) and the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) swing bed. The VOR is expected to allow the suit pressure to be adjusted to 84 settings between 0 and 8.4 psid. The current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) only has two pressure settings. This new capability will enable in-suit decompression sickness treatment and flexibility for interfacing with different vehicles. It also allows EVAs to start at a higher internal pressure to decrease prebreathe time, and then slowly decrease the pressure afterward in order to maximize mobility and minimize crew fatigue. The RCA swing bed removes

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

(CO₂) and controls humidity. The RCA CO₂ removal capability is regenerated during EVA by exposure to vacuum, making it superior to previous systems. To remove CO₂, the current EMU has to use either a lithium hydroxide (LiOH) canister or a Metal Oxide (Metox) canister. The LiOH canister can only be used once. The Metox canister can be reused post-EVA but to do so takes fourteen hours and requires auxiliary equipment, crew time and significant electricity. RCA is expected to weigh less than current comparable systems.

References

{{space suit American spacesuits