Polaris Dawn: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuit Training | SpaceX

Polaris Dawn: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacesuit Training | SpaceX

A member of the Polaris Dawn Crew wearing their new EVA spacesuit in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California

The Polaris Dawn crew wearing their new EVA spacesuits in a Crew Dragon mock-up at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California

The Polaris Dawn Crew at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California

Scott Poteet, Polaris Dawn Mission Pilot

At ~700 km above Earth, the extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida. Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend up to five days in orbit. This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date by reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown. Orbiting through portions of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.

Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.

Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Learn about the Polaris Dawn Mission:

https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/

Image & Caption Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Release Date: May 5, 2024

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