If astronauts find life on Mars, they might look stranger than the aliens.
Astronauts of the near future could be donning an eight-legged spacesuit inspired by spiders. The concept is part of a pitch from Lockheed Martin for a possible mission to one of the moons around Mars, Phobos and Deimos.
The “Spider Flyer-Walker” suit lets astronauts fly down to the moon’s surface from an orbiting spacecraft and crawl around to carry out the mission. Astronauts would be suspended above the surface, but they could still carry out their duties as they normally would with the assistance of the robotic legs to carry any soil samples collected.
Though it’s certainly bizarre looking, Lockheed engineers dreamed up the concept with practicality in mind. Designed to cut costs, the rocket-powered suit would eliminate the need for a rover or a lander. It would also save room on the spacecraft for samples collected during the mission.
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