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Monday, March 21, 2011

UND NDX-1 planetary exploration suit system is being tested in Antarctica


University of North Dakota aerospace engineer and researcher Pablo de Leon is part of a unique mission to test a UND planetary exploration suit -- the NDX-1 -- at a remote military base in Antarctica. The team is now testing the suit design at the Antarctic base used by a the Argentine Air Force, reports FoxNews.

The Spaceward Bound Mission includes de Leon of the UND Department of Space Studies; NASA space biologist Jon Rask; and NASA astrobiologist Dr. Chris McKay. Rask is Senior Scientist and McKay is a planetary scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Ames Research near San Francisco, CA. The team also includes a field support and documentation specialist.

The team is expected to spend 7 to 10 days at the Marambio Station, Argentina’s main Antarctic base, to conduct a variety of tests with the NDX-1 planetary exploration suit system. The NDX-1 also has been tested extensively in the Badlands and at the Dahlen Esker in North Dakota, at the Mars Desert Research Center in Utah, and at the Ames Research Center, notes Reuters.

The NDX-1 was designed and constructed at UND through NASA funding provided by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium. The team plans to blog this expedition; you can follow the team’s test routines at http://spacesuitlab.blogspot.com/

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