MarsSkin 1

The first prototype MarsSkin analogue MCP suit (shown at left) was recently displayed at AMEC2002, at the University of Sydney on 13 July, 2002.

This suit aims to realistically recreate the form fitting layers, movement restrictions and general appearance of a real MCP suit. It incorporates a helmet system being developed by students at the University of Sydney.

Suit designer James Waldie explained that further development work will be undertaken on the helmet, a cooling system, dataloggers /communications devices and arm mounted control systems. Field trials will also be carried out to test the suit in different conditions before it is used in real simulation studies.

The suit represents a significant evolution from the existing analogue suits developed by the US Mars Society for use at the Devon Island and Utah research stations.

Project Team Structure

Project Manager James Waldie
Personal Life Support System
Mark Abela
Brett Harvey
Daniel Ischia
David Wisely
The Personal Life Support System (PLSS) consists of the container(s) and systems which support and augment life and the mission during extravehicular activity (EVA) including power, cooling, communications, lighting, drink supply, control interface and status indicator. The PLSS group is based in Melbourne.
Helmet
Dr Craig Jin, (Audio)
Teewoon Tan (Visual)
Michael West (Group Leader)
The helmet is essentially a clear dome with several ancillary items/systems attached on the interior and exterior. The helmet group is based at the University of Sydney Faculty of Engineering. As part of the Advanced Engineering Program, young engineers designed and constructed a Mars Analogue Helmet System for Project MarsSkin. A team was formed of five 1st year students and two supervisors. This system incorporated some of the latest technology in the fields of wearable computing and image recognition and will be used in EVA activities during Operation Red Centre as an integral part of MarsSkin-1. The helmet was developed under the guidance of Dr Craig Jin from the School of Electrical Engineering, PhD student Teewoon Tan and MSA member Michael West.
Layers
Pinakin Chaubal
Jozef Michalek
The MarsSkin suit will consist of three layers; first is a cotton comfort layer, the second an analogue power layer, which shall be snug and form-fitting to replicate the mechanical counter pressure on the skin, the third and outer layer is a dust cover. The Layer group is based in Perth and Melbourne.