The end of the spacesuit: Researchers reveal nano coating that could revolutionise space travel



Created a 'nano-suit' for larvae which stops them dehydrating and dying when exposed to a space-like vacuum - could be adapted for humans

Bombarded larvae with electrons which caused the molecules in the film covering their skin to stick together creating a strong protective layer

This allowed them to move around but protected them from dehydration

It could eventually be used for humans in the form of an electron shower



Scientists have created a ‘nano-suit’ for fruit fly larvae which could eventually spell the end of the human spacesuit.



Researchers in Japan discovered that they can protect larvae from the effects of exposure to a space-like vacuum by bombarding them with electrons.



Without the treatment, the larvae shrivel and die within a few minutes.



Normally a larva exposed to a vacuum will shrivel and die (left), but when protected by a 'nano-suit' a larva can survive (right)



HOW DOES THE 'NANO-SUIT' WORK?

When animals are exposed to a space-like vacuum they are in danger of dehydrating because the water is sucked from their bodies. Japanese researchers found a way of preventing this happening which avoids the need for a traditional spacesuit. They bombarded a larva with electrons which caused the molecules in the film covering its skin to stick together. This created a protective layer flexible enough to allow it to move, but solid enough to stop dehydration. Most insects do not have the natural layer that can be transformed into a 'nano-suit' so the researchers also made an artificial alternative. They submerged mosquito larvae in a bath of water and Tween 20 – a non-toxic chemical – before covering them in plasma.

This caused the Tween 20 to create a nano-suit similar to that created naturally by the fruit fly larvae.



However, the researchers at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine discovered that when they are protected by a ‘nano-suit’ created by electron bombardment, they can survive the space-like conditions.



Science has reported that the ‘nano-suit’ works like a miniature space suit meaning that it could eventually be used by humans if applied using an electron shower.

To conduct the study, Japanese scientists placed a tiny larva in a scanning electron microscope and bombarded it with electrons. It survived the experience and went on to develop into a healthy fly.

By contrast, they also placed another larva in the same scanning electron microscope without the electron bombardment and this one quickly died of dehydration because, as predicted, the vacuum sucked the water out of its body.



When the researchers studied the skin of the insects they found that the electron treatment had changed the thin film covering the surviving larva’s skin - it had caused its molecules to stick together creating a layer flexible enough to allow it to move, but strong enough to protect it from dehydration.



However, most insects do not have natural layers than can be transformed into ‘nano-suits’ so the scientists decided to create an artificial alternative.



Scientists have created a 'nano-suit' for fruit fly larvae which could eventually spell the end of the human spacesuit

The 'nano-suit' works like a miniature space suit meaning that it could eventually be used by humans if applied using an electron shower. Picture shows Nasa's latest spacesuit design

They submerged mosquito larvae in a bath of water and Tween 20 – a non-toxic chemical – before covering them in plasma.



This caused the Tween 20 to create a nano-suit similar to that created naturally by the fruit fly larvae.



Astrobiologist Lynn Rothschild of Nasa's Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California, told Science that the nano-suits could allow creatures, or even people, to survive the extreme environments of space.



The researchers believe that this technique could eventually be used to allow astronauts to do away with their traditional spacesuits.

