by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Former NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar is conducting research into the digital manufacturing of custom, high-performance pressure suits that would allow astronauts to explore the surface of Mars with funding from her former employer.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — An astronaut steps into a body scanner and, hours later, walks on Mars in a custom-made spacesuit, breathing oxygen that was extracted from Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. On Venus, an inflatable bird-like drone swoops through the sky, studying the planet’s atmosphere and weather patterns. Ideas like these are currently science fiction, but they could one day become reality, thanks to a new round of grants awarded by NASA.