Environmentally Protective Fabrics for Spacesuits

Luna is addressing NASA?s need to develop new multifunctional textiles for improved Environmental Protection Garments (EPG). Previous protective suits such as the Apollo era EPG or currently used Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) provide thermal and micrometeoroid protection, but are intended only for short duration use. NASA plans for a future manned Mars mission will potentially require extended protection for up to 500 days. Critical capabilities for these textiles include improved i) dust mitigation to protect from potentially corrosive or abrasive particles in the Martian regolith, ii) cut and puncture resistance to protect the suit bladder from damage from sharp edges of tools and rocks, and iii) durability for extended use. Luna will develop a multifunctional textile composite that will achieve these stringent goals, while maintaining comfort and mobility. Our team will combine several well developed technologies into a practical textile design, which will provide excellent protection from dust, fire, chemical exposure, and cut/puncture. These will be integrated to minimize weight and maximize flexibility such as to not prohibit, degrade, or interfere with the use of equipment.

This development is focused on new environmentally protective spacesuits specifically for Mars missions. Whereas the textiles based technologies will be optimized for this environment, the general development will make these amenable for use on the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) with the International Space Station.

Luna will produce a practical protective textile composite designed specifically for NASA missions. The individual and composite technologies developed will have a wider use for commercial protective fabrics. It is anticipated that these textiles could be used to provide protection to general use for environmental cleanup garments, first responder's uniforms, as well as general use and chemical protective military uniforms.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.