"Joe Strout" wrote in message
...
In article

Has anyone considered instead a small mobile pod
instead? I'm picturing a hard shell slightly larger than a
man, which the pilot/user flies/wears around for assembly,
maintenance, and perhaps even sight-seeing tasks. It
would have jointed arms & hands which the user can
stick his hands into to manipulate things, but when he
doesn't need to do that, he can withdraw his arms into the
pod.

I have had similar thoughts, somewhere in the archives. This approach
strikes me as far easier and more effective than a suit.

It might also be directly docked to the habitat, perhaps avoiding the
need for an airlock.

The mass can actually be similar to that of a suit, it might even be
inflatable like Transhab, if packing volume was a real issue.

One of the things I really like about it is that it can be modular and
one size fits all. You could easily upgrade adding extra capabilities,
endurance, power, propulsion, extra inflatable volumes for passengers,
etc. It could serve as the basis for a truly multi role and even
emergency escape and rescue vehicle.

In an emergency situation it should give you the ability to do
something, retrieve stores, build stuff from the wreckage, etc. Options
would be greatly increased. I suppose it might even grab a heat shield
and parachute and return to earth. :-)

However I do not see anyone working on such things, so something is
wrong with it somewhere.

Pete.