Spacesuit gloves to go 'mano a mano' in NASA contest

17:12 30 April 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Kelly Young

Six teams are cracking their knuckles and getting ready to compete in the first ever Astronaut Glove Challenge, one of NASA's Centennial Challenges. The goal of the $250,000 competition, which will be held on 2 and 3 May, is to spur innovation to design more flexible spacesuit gloves.

Gloves are possibly the most important part of the spacesuit from an astronaut's perspective. In addition to cranking levers and handling power drills, astronauts use their hands – rather than their feet – as their primary mode of "walking" around the International Space Station (ISS).

Current gloves use two inner layers – a rubbery balloon-like layer surrounded by cloth to help keep the glove's shape – and an outer shield that protects against micrometeoroids and orbital debris and insulates the hands against the extreme temperatures of space.

The gloves are pressurised, making it difficult for the astronauts to move their fingers. As a result, they often do hand-strengthening exercises to prepare for spacewalks, which can last six hours or more. The labour-intensive spacewalks often leave astronauts' hands bruised and pinched and their fingernails bent backwards.

Much more at: http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11746-spacesuit-gloves-to-go-mano-a-mano-in-nasa-contest.html