A SELF-RESCUING SPACESUIT

From the Why-Didn’t-We-Think-Of-This-Sooner Department, engineers have filed a patent for a spacesuit self-return system to ensure spacewalking astronauts can return to their spacecraft if they ever get cut loose. This system is, essentially, a “take me home” button. The self-return spacesuit system had to be capable of determining a precise location in a harsh space environment where GPS is unavailable. It had to compute an optimal return trajectory that accounts for time, oxygen consumption, safety and clearance requirements, and it had to be able to guide a disoriented and possibly unconscious astronaut to safety effectively. According to the patent, the system can be configured to monitor the position of the crewmember relative to a fixed object, such as an accompanying orbiting spacecraft, and return them to that point.
* Sandra Bullock approves.
* Well, there goes the whole rescue scene from “The Martian”.
* “If they get cut loose”? If you can’t trust the ropes NASA uses, you might want to rethink the whole “becoming an astronaut” thing.
* The system can be adapted for drunk people celebrating on New Year’s Eve to automatically return them to their homes.