Improved Environmental Protection Garment (IEPG) Fabric

The Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suits for exploration of lunar and Martian surfaces cannot resist to cut/puncture due to current outer layer materials and design. Dust mitigation is also an important and unmet feature of current Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suit technology. Force Engineering Inc. proposes to develop an innovative shell fabric and dust mitigation technology for spacesuit outer layer to improve Environmental Protection Garments (EPG) using fiber and fabric structures originally developed for textile and composite armor applications with similar protection and abrasion resistant requirements. We aim to leverage our soft body armor and E-Textile technology assets to create multifunction textile structures that provide for redundant circuit and real time health monitoring and diagnostic capability, as well as the capability to dissipate electrostatic charges and move power and data across the spacesuit, replacing heavy cables and connectors that are known failure points.Force Engineering Inc will develop a new garment protection system that will achieve these two stringent goals, while maintaining comfort and mobility. Our team will combine several well-developed technologies into a practical outer layer design, which will provide excellent protection from dust, fire, thermal, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, impact penetration and cut/puncture. The new garment protection system will be integrated to minimize weight and maximize flexibility such as to not prohibit, degrade, or interfere with the use of equipment. Prototypes will fabricate and puncture, dust, and abrasion tests will be conducted for proof-of-concept.