--- title: Vote For Next NASA Z-2 Space Suit description: Here are the options... canonical: https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-26T18:00:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:45.629Z og:title: You Can Choose NASA's Next Space Suit og:description: Here are the options... og:url: https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Can Choose NASA's Next Space Suit twitter:description: Here are the options... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # NASA Is Letting People Choose Its Next Uber-Techy Spacesuit by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 26, 2014 6:00 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Mar 26, 2014 6:00 PM UTC NASA is making space nerds’ dreams come true: They can vote on what the[ next spacesuit design will look like](http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/). (First [_Cosmos_](http://www.cosmosontv.com) and now this? It’s space nerd Christmas!) The Z-1 Spacesuit — named one of [TIME’s best innovations of 2012, FYI](http://techland.time.com/2012/11/01/best-inventions-of-the-year-2012/slide/nasas-z-1-space-suit/) — is upgrading to a Z-2, made with the help of 3D human laser scans and 3D-printed hardware. To fully engage its core audience, NASA is allowing its fans to pick which high tech design will be built. Here are the options, each with a subtly different theme: **1\. Biomimicry** This suit is meant to look like the world’s oceans:  NASA And to embrace the “bioluminescent qualities of aquatic creatures found at incredible depths,” it also glows in the dark:  NASA **2\. Technology** This design uses Luminex wire and light-emitting patches:  NASA **3\. Trends in Society** This is what NASA thinks a spacesuit would look like if it was ‘reflective of what every day clothes may look like in the not too distant future”:  NASA **And here’s the 2012 Z-1:**  NASA [People can vote here](http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/). Of course, like most awesome things on the Internet, there’s a bit of a catch. The spacesuit isn’t actually space friendly. According to the frequently asked questions section, it isn’t designed to fly in space because the outer layers doesn’t have the functionality of “micrometeroite, thermal and radiation protection.” This is a prototype used primarily for aesthetics. Womp womp. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/"},"headline":"NASA Is Letting People Choose Its Next Uber-Techy Spacesuit","datePublished":"2014-03-26T18:00:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:45.629Z","description":"Here are the options...","url":"https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Space","NASA","vote","Design"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/38514/nasa-is-letting-people-choose-its-next-uber-techy-spacesuit/","name":"NASA Is Letting People Choose Its Next Uber-Techy Spacesuit"}}]}] ```