(WTVR) - NASA may be taking their next astronaut suit to infinity and beyond. The agency's newest prototype suit looks a lot like the popular Disney character Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story.
The mostly white suit feature Buzz's signature color prominently: neon green, and even has a large transparent dome similar to buzz.. It's designed for deep space exploration, has flexible joints for better ease of movement and has a rear entry point making it easier for astronauts to take it on or off.
The substantive changes in the suit (e.g., flexible joints, etc.) seem perfectly sensible, but really? The author is tragically correct -- it looks as close to Buzz Lightyear's suit as I think that it could.
But this really inspires a number of questions.... Is NASA trying to inspire excitement about the space program by appealing to an American 'pop cultural' theme? Is NASA full of nerds who need to get a life? Why are we developing suits for deep space exploration anyhow?
Oh yeah and one other thing, rear entry? Really? That's just a dirty joke waiting to happen.
If they develop a deep sea submersible for the purpose of “finding Nemo” we’ll know we’re in trouble.