Sojourner

The Sojourner newsletter is a publication offered jointly by both NSS Seattle and the Seattle Chapter of the Mars Society.

Current issue

The most recent issue of the Sojourner is available in .pdf and .doc formats. Below is the introduction from our 2006 President, Chris Vancil.

At the end of last month I sent the first new analog Spacesuit to the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah in five years. I designed it to have similar properties to the current EMU used on the international space station. You don (put on) the S-1 by first climbing into the PANTS then Pulling the TOP on. They have a hard connection thru a belt made of 1/2 poly tubing and a draw string in the pants. The S-1 made of light weight canvas and is purely a prototype as the final suits will be made of Ballistic Nylon, Equestrian Lycra and uncoated Nylon Cordura or Dyneema Ripstop. The old Dewey Analog Suits are simply wearing out much like a pair of old blue jeans after five seasons of work in the desert southwest.

I've found the experience of sending a finished test item off to MDRS a bit like throwing a coat out on the street. The first crew to use it I believe didn't read the Donning and Doffing documents I made and put it together wrong. But I will never know for sure as they didn't make images I asked for. A member of the next crew didn't like the Tubing Belt and simply removed it (haven't found exactly were they put it yet).

President's Message

All content (c) the Seattle Chapter of the National Space Society. All rights reserved.
For permission to use content, contact the Seattle Chapter.
The Space Needle is a registered trademark of the Space Needle Corporation and is used with permission.