April 30, 2007 — In a quest to develop a more comfortable glove for spacewalking astronauts, NASA is hosting a hands-on competition this week, with cash prizes totaling $250,000 in the offing.
The Astronaut Glove Challenge is part of the agency's Centennial Challenges program, which is designed to lure nontraditional space companies and engineers into providing creative, low-cost solutions to some of the agency's technical problems.
In its latest contest, NASA is offering $200,000 for the team that can design and manufacture a spacesuit glove that is more comfortable, durable and flexible than those in use today.
Another $50,000 was earmarked for a new type of glove, called a mechanical counterpressure glove, that would fit like elastic directly around the hand. However, no teams took on that challenge this year, so the money will be banked for a future competition.
The goal of the program is to develop a glove that can be used by astronauts over long periods of time in space or on the surface of the moon, Mars or other planetary body. NASA wants a new glove that is easier for astronauts to work in, and lighter and stronger than gloves available today.
Spacewalks are hard on astronauts' hands, not only because their tools and tasks require manual dexterity, but also because astronauts rely on their hands to maneuver their bodies in space. The gloves are pressurized and difficult to work in.
