Suitport
Encyclopedia
A suitport or suitlock is a proposed alternative to an airlock
Airlock
An airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...

, designed for use in hazardous environments and in human spaceflight
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....

, especially planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

ary surface exploration.

Operation

In a suitport system, a rear-entry space suit
Space suit
A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...

 is attached and sealed against the outside of a spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

, space habitat
Space habitat
A space habitat is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility...

, or rover
Rover (space exploration)
A rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots...

. To go on an extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...

 (EVA), an astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

 first enters the suit from inside the vehicle, and closes and seals the space suit backpack
Primary Life Support System
A Primary Life Support System , is a device connected to an astronaut's or cosmonaut's spacesuit, which allows extra-vehicular activity with maximum freedom, independent of a spacecraft's life support system. The PLSS is generally worn like a backpack...

 and the vehicle's hatch (which seals to the backpack for dust containment). The astronaut then unseals and separates the suit from the vehicle, and is ready to perform an EVA.

To re-enter the vehicle, the astronaut backs up to the suitport and seals the suit to the vehicle, before opening the hatch and backpack and transferring back into the vehicle. If the vehicle and suit do not operate at the same pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...

, it will be necessary to equalize the two pressures before the hatch can be opened.

Advantages

Suitports carry two major advantages over traditional airlocks. First, the mass and volume required for a suitport would be significantly less than that required for an airlock. Launch mass is at a premium in modern chemical rocket-powered launch vehicle
Launch vehicle
In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....

s, at an estimated cost of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

60,000 per kilogram delivered to the lunar surface.

Secondly, suitports can eliminate or minimize the problem of dust
Dust
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...

 mitigation. During the Apollo program, it was discovered that the lunar soil
Lunar soil
Lunar soil is the fine fraction of the regolith found on the surface of the Moon. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil...

 is electrically charged
Electric charge
Electric charge is a physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when near other electrically charged matter. Electric charge comes in two types, called positive and negative. Two positively charged substances, or objects, experience a mutual repulsive force, as do two...

, and adheres readily to any surface with which it comes into contact, a problem magnified by the sharp, barb-like shapes of the dust particles. Lunar dust may be harmful in several ways:
  • The abrasive nature of the dust particles may rub and wear down surfaces through friction.
  • The dust may damage coatings used on gaskets, optical lenses, solar panels, windows, and wiring.
  • The dust may cause damage to an astronaut's lungs as well as nervous and cardiovascular systems
    Circulatory system
    The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...

    , leading to conditions such as pneumoconiosis
    Pneumoconiosis
    Pneumoconiosis is an occupational lung disease and a restrictive lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust, often in mines.-Types:Depending upon the type of dust, the disease is given different names:...

    .


During the Apollo missions, the astronauts donned their space suits inside the Apollo Lunar Module
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back...

 cabin, which was then depressurized to allow them to exit the vehicle. Upon the end of EVA, the astronauts would re-enter the cabin in their suits, bringing with them a great deal of dust which had adhered to the suits. Several astronauts reported a "gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

" smell and respiratory and/or eye irritation upon opening their helmets and being exposed to the dust.

With a suitport, dust or other environmental contaminants cannot enter the cabin of the vehicle. When the suit is attached to the vehicle, any dust which may have adhered to the backpack of the suit is sealed between the outside of the backpack and the vehicle-side hatch. Any dust on the suit that is not on the backpack remains sealed outside the vehicle. Likewise, the suitport prevents contamination of the external environment by microbes carried by the astronaut.

Development and use

As of 1995, suitports have found a practical, terrestrial application as part of a NASA Ames hazardous materials vehicle, where the use of the suitport eliminates the need to decontaminate the hazmat suit
Hazmat suit
A hazmat suit is a garment worn as protection from hazardous materials or substances. A hazmat suit is generally combined with breathing apparatus for protection and may be used by firefighters, emergency personnel responding to toxic spills, researchers, specialists cleaning up contaminated...

 before doffing. A suitport prototype built by Brand Griffin has been used in a simulated lunar gravity test on board NASA Johnson's C-135 aircraft.

Patents for suitport designs were filed in 1996 by Philip Culbertson Jr. of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

's Ames Research Center, and in 2003 by Joerg Boettcher, Stephen Ransom, and Frank Steinsiek.

Suitports may find use as part of future NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 projects aimed at achieving the Vision for Space Exploration
Vision for Space Exploration
The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy which was announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space...

, which calls for a return to the Moon
Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the...

 by the year 2020, and eventual manned exploration of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

.

NASA's conceptual Space Exploration Vehicle has two suitports on the back of the craft.

In 2012 suitports are planned to be tested in a vacuum chamber and in the future suitports may be tested on the International Space Station.

See also

  • Space exploration
    Space exploration
    Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

  • Project Constellation
    Project Constellation
    Constellation Program is a human spaceflight program within NASA, the space agency of the United States. The stated goals of the program were to gain significant experience in operating away from Earth's environment, develop technologies needed for opening the space frontier, and conduct...

    • Lunar outpost (NASA)
      Lunar outpost (NASA)
      A lunar outpost was an element of the George W. Bush era Vision for Space Exploration, which has been replaced with President Barack Obama's space policy. The outpost would have been an inhabited facility on the surface of the Moon. At the time it was proposed, NASA was to construct the outpost...

    • Altair (spacecraft)
  • Lunar surface
  • Colonization of the Moon
    Colonization of the Moon
    The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth. Recent indication that water might be present in noteworthy...

  • Colonization of Mars
    Colonization of Mars
    The colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study because the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth...

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