We are well on our way to exploring Mars and finding out if other forms of life will be there to greet us. But while everyone has been caught up in the hullabaloo of who will get to explore Mars and how, London-based textiles designer Alexandra Lucas has brought up an equally important question: what will these Mars explorers wear?
It’s an important idea to ponder, both logistically and aesthetically. The first Mars denizens need protection from outside forces, and it wouldn’t hurt if they looked fashionable, too. Lucas’ project, The Mars Odyssey, explores just what this suit could look like.
Using photos of Mars as inspiration—like the HIRISE images—Lucas experimented with different designs for the suit, sketching her own interpretations of aerial views and using these drawings as the basis for her designs. Because this is a spacesuit meant for Mars, the outfit celebrates the planet’s beauty in its textures, colors and patterns.
“I designed my project around the context of how humanity might make its first steps on an alien planet in a highly functional but also stylish space suit,” Lucas wrote in an email.
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The suit is made up of different layers, each with a distinct purpose: a radiation layer, three pressure layers, a temperature and oxygen layer and a sensory membrane layer.
The current design is more of a “conceptual project” for a suit that would be functional and made with the right materials. But Lucas has done her research, basing parts of the spacesuit on temperature and pressure metrics—as well as the characteristics of Apollo mission suits. She also looked at other NASA spacesuit designs and spoke to scientists at the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency.
Each layer of the Mars suit has its own complex design. The three pressure layers include fabric vents, a neoprene coated layer and an elastic restrain layer.
“These would all protect the body against the low pressure, which is about 5-10 mb, about 100 times thinner than our atmosphere,” wrote Lucas.
Amidst all these layers is Lucas’ passion for textiles and her desire to pay homage to “the beauty of an alien planet.” Thanks to her project, we have at least one high-fashion option for when we meet life on another planet.
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