Lunar Space Suit In: Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol 9/1, January 1950.

H.E. (Harry) Ross

Published by British Interplanetary Society, London, 1950

About this Item

H.E. (Harry) Ross, Lunar Space Suit In: Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol 9/1, January 1950. Original wrappers. 9 x 6 , pp 1-48, the Ross article on pp 23-35, with four illustrations. FINE copy. __+__ [Ross] began work on the first serious scientific study of what sort of suit would be needed to survive on the surface of the Moon. --Space Centre UK website__+__ In a November 1949 symposium, Harry Ross presented a paper on the Lunar Space-Suit . Ross had examined the problem of a 68 kg lunar space suit (equivalent to 11 kg on the Moon) which could be worn for up to 12 hours, within the temperature range of 120 degrees to minus 150 degrees Celsius, representing night and day. The suit design was a 4-ply, made up of a thin exterior skin of closely woven cloth. It had a 1 cm layer of cellular heat-resisting material (Kapok, wool, felt et cetera) and a 1-2 mm main airtight sheath of fabric-backed natural or synthetic rubber. It also had an interior lining of non-hygroscopic material, mainly for comfort and to manage contact between the rubber and skin and absorption of the water-vapour. The exterior of the lunar space suit was to be a highly burnished metallic film, designed to reflect as much heat as possible. __+__ The helmet was to be a light, rigid double-shell structure, with the inner a bright alloy metal and the outer a plastic with burnished metal coating. Lateral vision of 180 degrees was proposed with a minimal vertical extension in order to minimise heat gain or loss. A special glass to prevent heat and actinic Ultra-Violet rays would be employed. __+__ The space suits that were eventually worn by the Project Apollo astronauts are a far cry from this original 1940s design. But the work started out by Harry Ross, led to credible thinking on how humans could survive in a self-contained, mobile habitat. The original paper by Harry Ross is [this paper]. --British Interplanetary Society website.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1600834778474

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Lunar Space Suit In: Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol 9/1, January 1950.
• Publisher: British Interplanetary Society, London
• Publication Date: 1950
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Fine
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