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This paper presents an analysis of the results of four years of theoretical and experimental work on EVA Suit Flat Pattern Soft Joints performed within the framework of the predevelopment work for the European EVA Space Suit under a ESA contract. During this project the most representative EVA Suit mobility joint breadboards have been designed and manufactured and a specific test bench has been developed and constantly perfected to perform a complete series of mobility joints tests. Flat Pattern Soft Joints are used from the glove fingers mobility joints to the waist mobility joint and the combination with bearings gives good mobility performances these performances are best adapted to the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) task requirements and can be used for all of the EVA suit mobility joints. The technology of the suit flat pattern mobility soft joints is, of course, a key issue of the general mobility performance.

The smallest manned spacecraft conceivable is the Extravehicular Activity Space Suit (EVA). It makes the astronaut autonomous on the space facilities, protecting him against the hostile environment and allowing the crew to provide sufficient performance and productivity. The specificity of the suit enclosure is related to the fact that it must ensure protection functions which are in conflict with the human performance function. For example, the enclosure is pressurized to protect the astronaut against the vacuum but such inner pressure rigidifies limbs and waist thus degrading mobility and working capability. The mobility is obtained through the combination of pressure tight bearings and one or two degrees of freedom (DOF) joints interfacing with a hard upper torso and hard bearings. In fact, the astronaut (motor) and the suit (passive) can be considered as two separate robots working in parallel, the performance depending on their compatibility and the level of the inner pressure.