Preliminary Testing of a Pressurized Space Suit and Candidate Fabrics under Simulated Mars Dust Storm and Dust Devil Conditions

Abstract

YAP Films (Toronto) received permission from all entities involved to create a documentary film illustrating what it might be like to be on the surface of Mars in a space suit during a dust storm or in a dust devil. The science consultants on this project utilized this opportunity to collect data which could be helpful to assess the durability of current space suit construction to the Martian environment. The NDX-1 prototype planetary space suit developed at the University of North Dakota was used in this study. The suit features a hard upper torso garment, and a soft lower torso and boots assembly. On top of that, a nylon-cotton outer layer is used to protect the suit from dust. Unmanned tests were carried out in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel (MARSWIT) at the NASA Ames Research Center, with the suit pressurized to 10 kPa gauge. These tests blasted the space suit upper torso and helmet, and a collection of nine candidate outer layer fabrics, with wind-borne simulant for five different 10 minute tests under both terrestrial and Martian surface pressures. The infiltration of the dust through the outer fabric of the space suit was photographically documented. The nine fabric samples were analyzed under light and electron microscopes for abrasion damage. Manned tests were carried out at Showbiz Studios (Van Nuys, CA) with the pressure maintained at 20±2 kPa gauge. A large fancreated vortex lifted Martian dust simulant (Fullers Earth or JSC Mars-1) off of the floor, and one of the authors (Lee) wearing the NDX-1 space suit walked through it to judge both subjectively and objectively how the suit performed under these conditions. Both the procedures to scale the tests to Martian conditions and the results of the infiltration and abrasion studies will be discussed.

History and Applications of Dust Devil Studies

“…Note the vehicles for scale. Image by Duncan Rawlinson (duncan.co CC Attribution-NC license) space suit designs for Martian surface operation was made possible by the entertainment industry (Gaier et al 2010), being tested with simulated dust devils during the production of a documentary 'Storm Worlds'.…”

Key Parameters of a Design for a Novel Reflux Subsonic Low-Density Dust Wind Tunnel

“…Although the simulated wind speed in the MARSWIT can be controlled within the range of 20~180 m/s, due to the open circuit construction, the simulated wind speed and the simulated gas pressure are inversely correlated. A hopper, through which the basaltic dust is fed into the MARSWIT, is located upstream of the test section entrance [36,37]. This sand feeding method may cause the spatial distribution of sand concentration to be uneven in the test section.…”

History and Applications of Dust Devil Studies

“…Dust storms on Mars are a common feature in science fiction movies set on that planet, and dust devils are seen prominently in the popular 2015 movie 'The Martian'. It may be noted that scientific publication of tests of dust penetration into space suit designs for Martian surface operation was made possible by the entertainment industry (Gaier et al 2010), being tested with simulated dust devils during the production of a documentary 'Storm Worlds'.…”