Russian lunar spacesuit tested in low gravity for the first time

To test the prototype of the Russian lunar spacesuit began this week, experts at the Cosmonaut Training Center. Yu.A. Gagarin. The equipment in which our cosmonauts will inhabit the Moon in the 2030s is based on the design ideas of the Soviet Krechet lunar spacesuit and the Orlan spacesuit for orbital work, developed at the time at Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise. As a result, a new modern spacesuit was obtained, which, according to the creators, meets the basic requirements for working in the conditions of a natural satellite of the Earth.

Russian spacesuit designers for orbital missions are one step ahead of their American counterparts. For example, our idea of ​​creating a semi-rigid Orlan spacesuit, into which cosmonauts, in fact, enter like a small house, through the back door, turned out to be very successful. It allows the astronaut to put on for a spacewalk on their own. The fact is that the bulky satchel, which contains the astronaut’s life support systems, is built into the very door through which the entrance is made.

The Americans, by the way, did not recognize our scheme for a long time, using spacesuits from two halves: upper and lower, but they design new ones, like us – with the entrance to a single spacesuit.

Lunar equipment, although it borrowed the same entry principle from Orlan, is a completely new product. Her satchel-door itself is located higher, respectively, and that part of the spacesuit that protects the chest and back – the cuirass was made shorter – for greater mobility of the lower back, because on the Moon an astronaut will need to do both inclinations and squats. The “arms” and “legs”, that is, the sleeves and legs of the lunar space suit, became more mobile. Lunar “lower limbs” are equipped with hinges for bending the knees and ankles when walking on the lunar surface.

Our space heroes, of course, will test the behavior of the structure in full measure directly on the lunar surface. But scientists already now have the opportunity to test it on Earth in the conditions of lunar gravity, which is 1/6 of ours.

We are talking about a unique system for modeling any level of gravity, which recently appeared in the CTC. Russian testers have already conducted training here for cosmonauts to go to the moon, however, they used traditional Orlans for this. A 100-kilogram suit was hooked up to an adjustable lifting mechanism. It can create any effect of attraction – from the most popular zero, as in the earth’s orbit, to the lunar and even to the Martian. Without weightlessness on Earth, in a heavy space suit, you probably won’t budge, but with a device that simulates lunar gravity, a test astronaut, easily bouncing, moves around the test room, only slightly pushing off the floor.

Now the testers will “take off” on a hill and “fly back” and after that those who actually fly to the moon will be in a prototype lunar spacesuit. After all, after the flight, they will immediately have to face the lunar reality – they will quickly get involved in the work of carrying cargo, installing the necessary equipment, and controlling the lunar rover.

The prototype of the lunar spacesuit, which was brought to the CTC for testing as part of joint research by Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise, the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Cosmonaut Training Center, is designed to work out typical operations in it. We were not recommended to take pictures of it and shoot it on video ahead of time, since some external parts of the spacesuit have not yet been patented.

In fact, in the future it will be a miniature spacecraft with a built-in automatic thermal control system, a large display on the control panel, and additional protective layers that can even save you from micrometeorites.

Since one of the troublesome aspects of the lunar atmosphere is its all-pervasive and incredibly sticky dust, the design is made so that dust does not penetrate into its moving parts. As for the high level of radiation on the surface of the moon, experts intend to protect astronauts from it with special material.

The lunar suit has one small drawback – the temporary absence of the original name. Therefore, the editorial office of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, at the request of the NPP Zvezda, announces a competition among its readers for the best name for the lunar spacesuit. Please send all proposals to the mail: [email protected] with a note: “Name for the lunar spacesuit.” At the end of the competition, the jury will select the best, and the winner will be awarded a prize – a porcelain cosmonaut made by craftsmen from Gzhel.

And how are they

NASA also recently unveiled a prototype of its spacesuit for landing astronauts on the surface of the moon. According to them, it will be needed as early as 2025 as part of the Artemis 3 mission.

The amount of the contract that the space agency entered into with a company similar to our Zvezda was $228.5 million. The costume is universal, suitable for any size. To create it, materials were used to withstand lunar temperatures – from +50 to -200 degrees Celsius, as well as exposure to dust and sharp stones. Each astronaut will have flashlights and high-definition cameras on their helmets to transmit live images from the Moon. The description also states that the suit has a large backpack with life support systems. As the developers assure, in such equipment you can stay on the moon for at least eight hours in a row. The prototype is finished in black to hide some of the features from competitors that would be visible in white.