Desirability of Arms-in Capability in Space Suits 860951

Retracting one or both arms from a space suit’s sleeves into its torso has been envisioned as a means to enhance a crewperson’s performance during repeated extended duration extravehicular activity (EVA). The purpose of this paper is to present considerations germain to the incorporation of an arm/arms-in feature in a space suit. It assesses what can be done with one and two arms-in; it presents the expected impacts to the wearer and the suit; and it discusses the operational feasibility of employing arm/arms-in.