NASA’s Buzz Lightyear-style space suit is inspiring a new generation of space gear

2022 marks the 10-year-anniversary of NASA’s Z-1 spacesuit prototype, a project that looks strikingly similar to “Toy Story” character Buzz Lighter’s iconic attire. The suit never made it out of the prototype phase, but it lives on in other ways.

As reported by Space.com, contractors have access to the project’s development history and can use the information to create their own spacesuits for other agency needs, including moon missions. The Z-1 suit was a significant step in spacesuit development for NASA, the administration said.

“NASA’s work on the Z-1 was the first step in the developmental platform known as the Z-series, and an attempt to push the envelope on the capabilities of a ‘soft’ exploration suit in terms of mobility,” NASA said on their website. “It also provided a platform for testing the other game changing technology in suited exploration, the suitport.”

While the Z-1 spacesuit may never see the great unknown, NASA is already working on new iterations for the future.

“After extensive testing and engineering design, the team came away with a number of important lessons. They learned that while some increased mobility was favorable, such as greater waist abduction and adduction, it led to less than favorable conditions like a smaller allowable torso size,” NASA said. “Test runs with the suitport also gave NASA engineers important experience with donning a suit that is already pressurized, which turned out to be more difficult than expected but was enhanced by the addition of donning aids. Overall, the Z-1 was a great improvement in mobility and the lessons learned are already being applied to the next suit in development, the Z-2.”

Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear is back in theaters for his own spinoff movie “Lightyear.” The film has seen a less than stellar opening weekend, having earned $51 million in its first North American weekend — a full $19 million behind earlier projections. Sporting a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics and fans alike are lukewarm on the space ranger’s solo movie.