HI-SEAS crew member Andrzej Stewart tries on a modular space suit designed by students Erica Kim 18 AP/ID (center) and Kasia Matlak MID 17 (right). | photo by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH
Grad student Kasia Matlak MID 17 and undergraduate Erica Kim 18 AP/ID took advantage of a rare opportunity to consult with “virtual astronauts” on a space suit they designed and made for a simulated mission to Mars. Working closely with RISD’s longtime NASA Coordinator Michael Lye 96 ID – a senior critic in the Industrial Design department – Matlak and Kim helped to develop the suit during a yearlong independent research project. In January they plan to ship it across the Pacific for the next Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) mission, an extended stay inside a solar-powered dome that simulates long-duration space exploration.
On Monday, December 5, the team unveiled the suit and helped HI-SEAS Chief Engineering Officer Andrzej Stewart try it on for comfort. “Are you feeling claustrophobic in there?” Lye asked via a two-way radio system. “No, but I’m an ice hockey goalie in my free time, so I’m used to wearing a lot of gear,” Stewart quipped in response.
Weighing in at approximately 50 pounds, the suit feels a little bit lighter than what an actual (heavier) space suit would feel like on Mars, where the gravitational force is weaker than Earth’s. It’s also much easier to get in and out of than typical space suits now in use, taking about 15 minutes and requiring the help of just one person.