A VARIABLE TRANSMITTANCE ELECTROCHROMIC SPACE SUIT VISOR

A SPACE SUIT VISOR WITH A CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE GRAY SCALE TRANSMITTANCE IS PROPOSED. THE SOLID STATE LIGHT MODULATORSWILL HAVE A SANDWICH STRUCTURE COMPRISED OF ELECTROCHROMIC THIN FILMS SEPARATED BY A POLYMERIC ELECTROLYTE. THE STRUCTURE IS ANALOGOUS TO A RECHARGEABLE, THIN FILM BATTERY WITH OPTICALLY TRANSPARENT ELECTRODES AND A VISIBLE STATE OFCHARGE. BECAUSE THE DEVICE HAS A LOW POWER CONSUMPTION AND REQUIRES POWER ONLY DURING TRANSMISSION CHANGES, IT COULD BE READILY INCORPORATED INTO A SPACE SUIT POWER ENVIRONMENT AND CONTROLLED EITHER AUTOMATICALLY VIA A FEEDBACK MECHANISMOR MANUALLY. PHASE I WILL DEAL WITH PRODUCING AND TESTING PROTOTYPE ELECTROCHROMIC MODULATORS ON POLYMERIC SUBSTRATES THAT COULD BE LAMINATED INTO A VISOR STRUCTURE. SEVERAL NEW THIN FILM ELECTROCHROMIC MATERIALS WILL BE EVALUATED WHICH SHOULD HAVE IMPROVED GRAY SCALE COLORATION COMPARED TO PRESENTLY AVAILABLE COMPONENTS, WHICH ARE BLUE.