NASA says it is ready to wrap up a campaign to let the public vote on the best design for a prototype spacesuit that could be a step toward the first human mission to Mars.
Midnight of April 15 marks the end to let the public vote the choice design for the Z-2 suit, which follows on from the space agency's Z-1 suit, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the one worn by Buzz Lightyear in the "Toy Story" movie.
"After the positive response to the Z-1 suit's visual design we received, we wanted to take the opportunity to provide this new suit with an equally memorable appearance," NASA says on its Z-2 design website.
NASA has put three designs, produced in collaboration with primary suit vendor ILC and Philadelphia University, in the voting campaign.
The three designs have been dubbed "Biomimicry," "Technology" and "Trends in Society."
The "Biomimicry" design draws inspiration from an Earthly environment with many parallels to the harsh condition of space: the world's oceans.
Qualities that protect some of our planet's toughest creatures, like a scaly skin, have been incorporated into the design, as has bioluminescence to make the suit visible in reduced light.
"Technology" harks back to spacesuits of the past, featuring collapsing pleats for ease of movement and mobility; light-emitting patches would help identify individual astronauts.
For "Trends in Society," the designers went for a look of what everyday clothing might look like in the future, with ectroluminescent wire and bright colors to reflect the appearance of sportswear and suggest wearable technology.
When the chosen Z-2 design is built, likely by November of this year, it will undergo a battery of tests including vacuum chamber work to mimic the lack of atmosphere in outer space.
The Z-2 is not designed to go into space, NASA says, but is instead will be created as a non-flight prototype for ground-based testing.
NASA says it had received more than 200,000 design votes from around the world as of April 7, and also a number of designs submitted on the web as possible alternatives to the existing Z-2 candidates.
NASA's Z-1 suit was named one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2012.
