Suiting up for outer space

The space race is heating up among designers and manufacturers of space suits. Oceaneering International Inc., Houston, Texas, has signed an exclusive team agreement with the David Clark Co., a space suit supplier, and United Space Alliance, a space operations company, to produce the Oceaneering Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Oceaneering develops, manufactures and operates equipment for use in harsh physical environments, such as deep ocean and deep space. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) continues development of its stretchy elastic space suit, which exerts force on the bodies of astronauts that mimics gravity and helps forestall the loss of bone mass that happens during prolonged off-planet trips. For more information on the evolution of space suits, visit http://history.nasa.gov/.