The suits of the NASA astronauts on their SpaceX mission to the ISS

In case anyone reading these words has been living in a cave for the past few months and missed SpaceX and NASA’s historic mission, I feel obligated to mention that this event took place on May 30, 2020. Elon Musk’s private company – SpaceX, and the US government’s space exploration agency – NASA, in collaboration launched the Dragon rocket with two astronauts on board, towards the ISS (International Space Station). The event was broadcast worldwide and watched live by millions of people around the world, including me. In this post, I will not go into details and explanations about the mission itself, because this is generally available information on many news sites.

I want to tell you about something different that impressed me and that you can’t read in most articles. The astronaut suits, which the whole world had their eyes on a few days ago, are a very interesting subject. You can see them in the pictures below.

Am I the only one getting “Mass effect” deja-vu looking at them? Oh, how I loved this game. I guess I have to install it again. Check out some of the Mass Effect character costumes in the following photos to see what I mean.

Interestingly, the astronaut costumes are the work of a movie designer who has created a bunch of Marvel and DC superhero looks. This Mexican designer is named Jose Fernandez and if you have seen:

Thor and Loki helmets from the Thor film series
Batman’s costumes in Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman v Superman and Batman and Robin
Daft Punk helmets
the costume of Wolverine in the movie “X2: X men united”
and many other superheroes from famous movies (mostly from comics)

so you have seen the designs and work of Jose Fernandez. In several articles I’ve read on the subject, it says that Elon Musk was very keen on a clean “business” vision for the suits for this mission, so he hired a real designer to make them.

The extravagant Jose Fernandez with his creation – the Batman costume.

The suits worn by the astronauts on the first private, human-manned space mission were specially made for the historic event. The helmets are made with sophisticated 3D technology, and the gloves are suitable for use with touchscreen technologies. Fernandez says he worked “…between 3 and 4 years” with SpaceX to create these futuristic suits. The materials used are Teflon and Nomex.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley wear these suits on their 19-hour mission to the International Space Station, where they will remain for the next 1 to 4 months.

The suits, in my opinion, are stylish, futuristic and elegant, but not very practical because they can only last in cabin conditions. Their design offers high protection in case of fire or problems with the atmosphere on board (filling with smoke, leaking of gases, etc.).

It’s cool and very intriguing how an ordinary person can create something for the whole world to watch and discuss, something that goes beyond the borders of our planet. Here, fiction, vision, ideas and reality intertwine in a futuristic mixture that looks like something out of a Stanislav Lem novel. Jose Fernandez, having the style and experience behind him, has created not just costumes, but a hybrid between a stylish superhero and an astronaut-James Bond. At least I like them a lot, hope you do too!

Link to a short video about the costumes.

Sources of this article, where I read some of the information from: