China unveils spacesuit for moonwalking astronauts (video)

China has paraded its moon landing spacesuit, unveiling its design in a ceremony in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing on Saturday (September 28).

A technician provided it Spacesuit – which China plans to use in manned lunar missions from 2030 – goes through its paces and shows various movements and gestures, including climbing the rungs of a ladder.

The overall design of the lunar landing suit is inspired by traditional Chinese armor, highlighting the suit's tough and determined appearance. It also features straps, which have always been an important element in Chinese spacesuit design.

China unveiled its new moonwalking spacesuit at a ceremony on September 28, 2024. The suit is designed to be light and flexible. (Image credit: CCTV)

Multi-purpose suit

The new lunar suit is an evolution of the Feitian, China's first indigenous spacesuit. Feitian means “to fly in the sky” and is the name of a legendary Buddhist goddess.

Related: China reveals a video of its plans for a lunar base, which strangely also includes a NASA space shuttle

“The Feitian extra-board activity The suit is designed for use in low earth orbitwhere astronauts float in one Microgravity ” said Zhang Wanxin, director of the Spacesuit Engineering Office and deputy chief designer of the astronaut system at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

“That's why we chose the ribbon element to convey a sense of free flow,” Zhang told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). “The lunar landing suit is designed for lunar exploration such as walking and working on the lunar surface, so we also want to convey a strong-willed and unwavering feeling, which we organically integrated into the suit's design.”

Following the suit demonstration, Yang Liwei, deputy chief designer of China's manned space program and China's first astronaut, together with the technician launched a public campaign to name the new suit moon Spacesuit. This campaign ends on October 31, 2024.

Experts on China's first lunar spacesuit provided additional details about the lightweight, flexible garment.

According to CCTV, the suit's features include:

A fully protective fabric that protects against the harsh thermal environment and lunar dust
An anti-glare panoramic visor for improved visibility
Two cameras on the sides of the helmet for video recording
A multifunctional control console on the chest that streamlines operations for greater efficiency.

Changes in posture

Unlike China's current Feitan spacesuit, “the new spacesuit is designed primarily to be lightweight and meets the requirements of activities in a low-gravity environment, with configurations that allow for easy crouching and bending,” CCTV reports.

According to Wang Chunhui, deputy chief designer of astronaut training systems at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, the suit's fit must remain unaffected by posture changes to accommodate the various positions that will be required on the moon.

“The suit allows for more actions. Therefore, fitness in different postures should not be affected after a posture change. Therefore, a better fit on the human body is required,” Wang told CCTV, adding that the suit is more like normal clothing compared to other extravagant spacesuits.

Complex environmental factors

“Unlike low Earth orbit missions, extraterrestrial activities on the lunar surface expose astronauts to a naturally harsh lunar environment,” said Wu Zhiqiang, another astronaut training system developer at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

“Complex environmental factors such as high vacuum and low gravity, dust and lunar soil, complex surface topography, high and low temperatures [and] “Strong radiation will have a big impact on the work and protection of astronauts,” Wu told CCTV.

“Considering they work under one sixth of gravity“In order to reduce the metabolic burden on the human body, it is necessary to greatly reduce the weight of the suit,” Wu said.

“As astronauts walk on the lunar surface and conduct scientific research activities, spacesuits must have better ergonomic support capabilities and be smaller and better integrated. And the comprehensive protection capability of lunar landing boots also needs to be significantly improved,” he said.

You can attend the suit unveiling ceremony Here.

China unveils spacesuit for moonwalking astronauts (video)

Multi-purpose suit

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China unveils spacesuit for moonwalking astronauts (video)

Multi-purpose suit

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