The Hohenstein Institute in partnership with three other organisations has initiated a design competition ‘Spacetex 2030’, which challenges students to design functional clothing for astronauts on a mission to Mars.

The competition which is based on the ongoing ‘Spacetex’ research project, involves three other organisations namely; Schoeller Textil AG, the Charité hospital and German Aerospace Center.

The aim of the project is to acquire data about interaction between the human body, clothing and climate in a zero gravity environment, which will then be used to optimise textile materials as regards the special requirements of weightlessness.

The students taking part in the ‘Spacetex 2030’ competition will be asked to design highly functional clothing as station wear for astronauts using such high-tech materials, which will be worn as ‘everyday outfits’ when in the spacecraft and Mars station.

The students have to take into account special demands of the astronauts, who will be spending months experiencing weightlessness during the flight or low gravity when on Mars.

Or the various activities undertaken by the astronauts such as their daily exercise programme or routine maintenance will also have to be considered by the students taking part in the competition.

And then there are the restrictions resulting from the lack of resources and gravity regarding the cleaning and care of clothing.

All these aspects will be taken into account by the specialist panel headed by project director Dr Jan Beringer when judging the submissions.

Ten finalists will be shortlisted by the end of the year, with the prizes for their work being awarded at Techtextil 2015 in Frankfurt, with the total prize money on offer being Euros 3,000. (AR)