Vote on NASA's Z-2 Suit Design

I can already hear all the complaints about having the public weigh in on this, and even on the waste of organizing it, but I think this is a pretty brilliant move on the part of Nasa.<p>There&#x27;s far too little to &#x27;inspire&#x27; kids anymore and I imagine far fewer kids saying they want to be astronauts. This does the double duty of involving the public even in a tiny way and of hopefully coming up with a design that moves people a bit as well.<p>Both good things in my book.

In case people comment without scrolling to the bottom and reading the FAQ:<p>&quot;Is the design that is selected going to fly to space?<p>No, as the Z-series is still in the prototype or non-flight phase. The cover layer of a non-flight suit, which is used for ground-based testing, serves as abrasion&#x2F;snag protection, a cover for technical details, and to a lesser extent, aesthetics. For a flight suit which is actually used for a spacewalk, the cover layer performs many other important functions such as micrometeorite, thermal and radiation protection. These requirements drive selection of specific high-performance materials and design details that would preclude us from using many of the features you see in these options for the Z-2 suit. &quot;

I liked the way the old suits&#x27; exteriors looked so much better than any of these ideas. Even the Z-1 they show at the top of the page is so, so much better.<p>As often happens, an instance of designers mistaking their own taste for something that everyone will see as better.

To infinity and beyond?<p><a href="http://wordlesstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/NASAs-Z-1-new-Spacesuit-1-640x430.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;wordlesstech.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2012&#x2F;12&#x2F;NASAs-Z-1...</a>

What about fast-tracking the skin tight futuristic one being worked on at MIT?<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dava-newmans-skintight-spacesuit-could-be-nasas-future-2013-12" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.businessinsider.com&#x2F;dava-newmans-skintight-spaces...</a>

I am disappointed that they are all the same and they all look pretty bad.

I saw a pretty fly space suit at the top of the page. I saw some very disappointing things that looked like a 12 year old made them with duct tape. I got to choose between those disappointments. I then read that these won&#x27;t even make it to space. I hereby conclude that this is a pretty bad PR move.

Why do they all look like the astronauts made the suits themselves out of duct tape?

Suits should be personalizable, and vivid for search-and-rescue situations. These grey camo styles are inappropriate. How do I vote &#x27;none of the above&#x27;?

we&#x27;re sending our best and brightest into space and making them wear <i>shorts over their pants</i>?

Space has extremely high contrast light conditions due to the lack of reflective materials in a vacuum, shadows have zero visible detail. To counter act that effect you&#x27;d want an all white suit to help diffuse as much reflected light as possible.

If we&#x27;re gunning for aesthetics, with a little dye and some extra lighting, that first one might be a decent Garrus approximation.<p><a href="http://silentstephi.com/Misc/garrus14.png" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;silentstephi.com&#x2F;Misc&#x2F;garrus14.png</a>

Is anyone else missing the text from the page? Chrome 33.0.1750.154 m, no extensions.<p><a href="http://i.imgur.com/a7lfdrY.png" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;a7lfdrY.png</a>

Completely PR. Design can&#x27;t even be used in space.

Sigh: The process cannot access the file &#x27;D:\JSCFeatures\z2\Default.aspx&#x27; because it is being used by another process.

Why do we need manned missions, is there something a drone can&#x27;t do?

Why are aliens wearing them?

aka, &quot;hey this el wire stuff is pretty cool!&quot;