Apparently it’s fashion week at NASA, and white is SO OUT. The agency is currently developing a new line of spacesuits, and have enlisted the public’s taste to decide on what the outermost layer should look like. They have narrowed it down to the three astro-chic designs listed below.

The new line of space suits is called the “Z-series”, the latest model of which will be called the Z-2. The Z-2 will improve upon 2012’s Z-1, the suit that Time Magazine called one of the best innovations of the year.  “The cover layer of a prototype suit is important as it serves to protect the suit against abrasion and snags during the rigors of testing,” project officials say of the Z-2, “(and) we’re looking forward to employing cover layer design elements never used in a spacesuit before.” While these designs may have never been used in a spacesuit before, nobody could ignore the similarity of these suits to those in Tron. Presumably the Z-2 could work just as well inside a computer as it could on Mars.

“Biomimicry”

(NASA Advanced Concepts Lab – POC: Alberto Bertolin)

With its glowing natural lines shining against an all black background, “Biomimicry” aims to capture the deep-sea style of bioluminescent creatures such as the clusterwink snail, vampire squid, and atolla jellyfish. Unfortunately the deep sea creature features on this suit are limited to the luminescence – there will be no glowing attractant attached to the helmet for luring edible space life directly to an astronaut’s mouth, as is the case with deep sea anglerfish.

“Trends in Society”

(NASA Advanced Concepts Lab – POC: Alberto Bertolin)

“Trends in Society” uses bright colors and electroluminescent wires to create the appearance of modern sportswear. Gore pleats with contrasting stitches are meant to highlight the suit’s mobility and range of motion. This design aims mimic what NASA suspects clothing will look like in the future. For whatever reason, NASA chose to ignore the notion that all pants in the future will have ridiculously high waist bands, as was evidenced in Her.

“Technology”

(NASA Advanced Concepts Lab – POC: Alberto Bertolin)

The more rigidly assembled lighting on “Technology” gives a mechanical feel to this design. This suit could even have areas of lighting customized to the wearer – making it easy for crew members to identify each other while mining for super precious space minerals. This design also features collapsing pleats for added mobility and abrasion resistant panels on the lower torso so the suits will hold up even after years in those treacherous space mines.

You can take a closer look at each design here and vote for your favorite. Think hard on this. We’d hate for our brave astronauts to look anything short of dashing when they first encounter extraterrestrials.

HT: Space.com