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"  Until recently, astronauts rarely worried about what to wear--a standard gas-pressurized spacesuit was the only choice. But navigating Mars in a bulky 300-pound setup would be like doing gymnastics in a suit of armor. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re not going there to sit in the habitat,&amp;quot; says Dava Newman, a professor of astronautics at MIT. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;ll have to work five to seven days a week.&amp;quot;  Newman has designed an alternative with enough flexibility to get the job done. Partially inspired by giraffe anatomy--the tall beasts use tight leg skin to help regulate blood pressure--the BioSuit relies on mechanical counterpressure instead of gas pressure. Every suit must be tailored to squeeze its owner.  Newman estimates the BioSuit is 10 years from completion, but already the multiple layers can offer 25 to 30 kilopascals of pressure in the legs, enough to counter the thin atmospheres of other planets. And they&amp;#039;re safer than the old &amp;quot;gasbag&amp;quot; suits--a small hole can be patched on the fly. While we wait for a Mars mission, MIT hopes to put the BioSuit to work on Earth, helping physical therapy patients exercise. For a special report on the future of space--including how NASA will cope with life on Mars--pick up the September issue of Popular Mechanics, on sale now!  MIT astronautics professor Dava Newman tries on her custom-fitted BioSuit, designed for exploration and work on Mars. The pattern of thick, semi-elastic polymer threads forms a support structure to counter the low pressure of other planets. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a2050/4220822/>