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NASA spacesuit idea rockets hot-pants fashion to the moon

Work it, NASA.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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The final spacesuit might not look anything like this.

NASA

Can protecting astronauts from temperature extremes and oxygen deprivation also be stylish? That's the question on Twitter's mind ever since NASA shared a rendered image of an astronaut chilling on the moon's surface. 

NASA is pretty excited about the idea of returning astronauts to the moon in 2024, but there's a lot to be done if the space agency has any hope of meeting that tight deadline. If astronauts step onto the lunar surface, they're going to need new spacesuits since the Apollo-era ones are old and funky.

On Wednesday, NASA tweeted the question, "What will astronauts wear on moonwalks in five years?" The agency said it's working on options for "modern spacesuit designs for astronauts to explore the lunar surface and help create our sustainable lunar future."  

The render NASA shared is just an idea of what a new moonsuit might look like. I stared at it and thought it looked like a cropped t-shirt and short-shorts over leggings. I wasn't the only one. 

Space fans had a few comments. "I love you NASA but can we make the spacesuits without it looking like the astronaut is wearing short shorts and a tee shirt," one Twitter user said.

"Is that suit supposed to make the astronaut look like they are wearing a crop top and hot pants?" another asked.

There were plenty of design suggestions, including a request for suits that look less like marshmallows or "something low cut that looks cute with a boot." 

The rendered moonsuit has a lot in common with the suits used for spacewalks on the International Space Station, which prove NASA is no stranger to the shorts look. Colored stripes on the legs help NASA distinguish between astronauts when they're working outside the ISS. 

NASA won't be able to please everybody. I kind of like the hot-pants look. It goes easily from the lunar surface right into a roller derby match. It says, "I'm here to explore the moon, but I also like to kick back and have fun after a long day of science."

Think of it as a spiritual fashion thread between a modern moon mission and the go-go Apollo days of the '60s and '70s. Now can we please get a moonsuit with bell bottoms?

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