Mechanical Counter-Pressure EVA Suits: NASA Outlook and Development Strategy in 2022

Mechanical counter-pressure has been investigated as a possible alternative architecture to traditional extra-vehicular activity suits for some time. MCP aims to provide physiological protection against the ambient vacuum environment by direct application of pressure to the skin by a fabric, as opposed to surrounding the occupant in pressurized gas as is the defining characteristic of a traditional gas-pressurized suit. In reviewing the concept of MCP, it offers distinct hypothetical advantages to traditional EVA suits: reduced mass, consumables, and complexity; increased mobility and comfort. In addition, as rudimentary feasibility of the concept was established in the 1960s with the testing of the Space Activity Suit, MCP seems poised to inevitably supplant traditional EVA architectures with a modest degree of concentrated development. However, a closer examination suggests something quite different. This paper serves as a comprehensive summary of the technical work that has been completed related to MCP from 1960 to 2022, the technical gaps that currently prohibit development of a flight-capable design, and outlines a development strategy that serves to address these gaps moving forward over the coming decades.