MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Tests of a mock-up of a new spacesuit which Russian cosmonauts will use to walk on the lunar surface have been conducted at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Roscosmos' press service said on Friday.
"Oleg Kononenko, deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center for cosmonaut training and commander of the cosmonaut unit, tested the first spacesuit mock-up on the Vykhod 2 weightlessness simulator. He tested its mobility and ease of use while walking, [performing] jumps [and] squats, ascending and descending a slope, and working with tools," the report said.
The spacesuit mock-up was designed by the Zvezda Research and Development Production Enterprise in collaboration with the Central Research Institute for Machine Building (TsNIIMash, a Roscosmos company) and the Cosmonaut Training Center, the press service said.
"[My] impressions are very positive. I feel happy and proud to participate in such an experiment. The spacesuit is fairly spacious, the bearings are installed in a way that increases hand mobility, [and] the working surface area and accessibility have been increased. The spacesuit's helmet [allows me to] freely move my head and look in different directions," Kononenko was quoted by the press service as saying.
The mock-up was made during research work into creating the appearance of a lunar spacesuit for assessing the work of joints in lunar gravity, said Alexander Tyukhtin, deputy chief designer for space equipment and gear at the Zvezda Research and Development Production Enterprise.