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NASA Z-2
Designation: Z-2
NASA's 2014 experimental prototype — the public voted on its outer shell design. A testing bed for constant-volume joints and planetary surface mobility that fed directly into AxEMU.
About This Suit
The Z-2 was the second prototype in NASA's Z-series advanced EVA suit development program (after the Z-1 in 2012), designed to test next-generation technologies for planetary surface exploration. Unlike the operational EMU which was designed for microgravity ISS EVA, the Z-series was engineered for planetary surface work — featuring a rear-entry hard upper torso, suitport compatibility, and constant-volume joints for reduced pressure differential fatigue. The Z-2's outer shell was the subject of a 2014 public vote between three designs ('Biomimicry,' 'Technology,' and 'Trends in Society'), with 'Technology' receiving ~63% of ~233,000 votes cast — a rare example of public engagement shaping a NASA spacecraft component. The suit was vacuum-tested and hard-suited environment-tested at JSC's Neutral Buoyancy Lab. Technology insights from Z-2 fed directly into the xEMU and subsequently the AxEMU under the xEVAS contract.
Key Features
- 1Rear-entry suitport-compatible design for planetary habitat integration (no airlock needed)
- 2Constant-volume shoulder and elbow joints — reduced pressure differential work in joint cycling
- 3Public voted on three proposed outer shell designs — 'Technology' won with 63% of 233,000 votes
- 4Hard upper torso with flexible lower half, targeting full squat/kneel mobility
- 5Designed for both EVA and surface exploration (not limited to microgravity)
- 6Technology feed directly into NASA xEMU and AxEMU commercial successor
Historic Missions
2014
JSC vacuum chamber testing (2014–2016)
Environment testing at Johnson Space Center, including Neutral Buoyancy Lab evaluation — never flew on a crewed mission
Engineering & Research Highlights
- ◆Constant-volume joint testing provided the dataset that informed AxEMU's joint pressure management approach
- ◆Suitport compatibility study showed that rear-entry suits could reduce suit donning time from 45 minutes to under 10 minutes
- ◆Public design vote raised 233,000 votes — among the largest public engagement exercises in NASA hardware history