One of five winning designs selected by ESA’s Space Suit Design Competition that collected ideas from the general public on what a future European extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit could look like. This design was made by Maurizio De Vincentiis.

Taking into account the extreme conditions spacewalk suits must withstand to protect our astronauts, participants were challenged to design a suit that is instantly recognisable for ESA astronauts. Over 90 ideas were received, and an ESA jury of exploration experts reviewed these proposals and ultimately selected five winners.

“Several elements of the spacesuit were inspired by the cooperation among various European space agencies. What influenced me is the spirit that moves these agencies, along with a common vision for the future of space exploration. I also wanted to bring out the hi-tech aspect and prove that Europe can hopefully become the main point of reference for the aerospace industry.”

“As I was designing my space suit, my aim was oriented towards miniaturising the single components, a goal I suspect to be just as important in realising the real EVA suits. In my opinion, reducing both size and weight of the single parts of a suit is going to be a central issue to allow the astronauts to move more easily and more organically in operative conditions.”

Maurizio has not only designed this spacesuit but has also built it and filmed a music video with it. “A song that I wrote, that is dear to me revolves around the concept of travelling, which led to the main character of the music video becoming a European astronaut. Considering my occupation, it was a given that I would realise his space suit from scratch.”

“Another important aspect of my project is the theme of growth and generational turnover. Although the characters of my music video represent the same person in different phases of his life, the generational turnover is a reality in space travels: the new generation of astronauts, technicians and engineers is already among us.”

Maurizio talks of his next steps: “I’m currently working on a 2.0 version of the space suit; the crux of this new design is the need for the main character to get dressed on their own in order to fill the whole scene as a sequence shot.”