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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Designing a new space suit -- customized to each wearer

NASA wants to send astronauts back to the moon, to Mars, and beyond. But their existing space suits are too bulky and outdated -- from the 1970s.

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By Madeleine Brand • Aug 2, 2018 • 1 min read

NASA wants to send astronauts back to the moon, to Mars, and beyond. But their existing space suits are too bulky and outdated -- from the 1970s. Dava Newman is a former NASA Deputy Administrator, and she and her team at MIT have designed a relatively lightweight, skin-tight “Bio-Suit.” It’s custom fit to each wearer, and applies pressure directly to the body. The helmet features augmented reality.

2008 Silver BioSuit™ Mock-up

Credit: Professor Dava Newman, MIT: Inventor, Science and Engineering

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Digital News & Culture Editor

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    Dava Newman

    Apollo Professor of Astronautics at MIT

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