NASA Engineers Work on New Spacesuits

By RASHA MADKOUR , Associated Press Writer, Space & Earth science / Space Exploration

Joe Kosmo demonstrates the back opening of a working model spacesuit Thursday, March 15, 2007, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, engineers are working on designing a new space suit. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

(AP) -- In labs at Johnson Space Center, away from the buzz about NASA's new spaceship and its new missions to the moon and Mars, a group of engineers are plodding away at another piece of the puzzle: spacesuits. Astronaut apparel has evolved over the decades from Mercury's aluminum foil-looking outfits to the bulky, 275-pound whites now used on jaunts outside the space station. While it's too early in the process to know how the new suits will look, the space agency is hoping to make new suits both high-tech and low-maintenance.

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