Building a better space suit — NASA selects proposal by UA students

A proposal written by five students at The University of Akron has been selected as one of three winners of the NASA Textile Test Methods Challenge.

Himel Barua, Thomas L. Collins, Riniah Foor, Evan Hess and Joey Stavale collaborated to provide the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with a uniform testing method and apparatus to assess the damage that can occur to space suit materials in a variety of planetary environments — from the Moon to Mars.

Future space suits are being designed for extraterrestrial missions beyond low-earth orbit. During previous missions to the moon, space suit wear was a major issue, which current Earth-based testing fails to reliably simulate. To explore the moon, Mars and asteroids, astronauts will depend on their suits for protection. A standard test method capable of accurately simulating textile wear is imperative for the safety and success of these future missions. 

Shared knowledge produces results

To solve the challenge, the five students drew upon the knowledge and experience gained from their varied majors. Barua is a graduate student in mechanical engineering; Collins is an electrical engineering technology major; Foor, an honors student, and Stavale are both mechanical engineering majors; and Hess is a corrosion engineering major.

“You just cannot simulate the exact environment the spacesuit has to face in space, like lunar dust impact, friction created by the spacesuit itself during movement, solar radiation and others,” explains Barua. “So, it required lots of brainstorming sessions and study to create good and calculated assumptions for simulating this environment.”

Dr. Christopher Daniels, research associate professor of mechanical engineering, and an advisor for the challenge, praises the UA team’s efforts.

“Our students provided enthusiasm, fresh ideas and hard work, while the advisors provided guidance and encouragement,” says Daniels. “It’s amazing how well a group of students that didn’t know one another came together to assemble a winning proposal on an unfamiliar topic. This represents an excellent example of how academic research enhances the education of University of Akron students and raises it to a world-class level.”

Along with Daniels, the UA team was advised by Dr. Heather Oravec, research assistant professor, Janice Mather, senior research engineer, and Dr. M.J. Braun, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering.