Three teams are looking to find the optimal suit for traversing the harsh landscape of Mars (Universe Today).

October 8th marked a major milestone in humans setting foot on Mars, as three teams simultaneously tested three experimental spacesuits at World Space Walk 2013.

World Space Walk 2013, which has the theme of “Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth”, is hoping to set standards for spacesuits for exploring Mars. Taking place in Innsbruck, Austria; the University of North Dakota; and Utah; the tests were led by the Austrian Space Forum, which was in charge of the Mission Control Centre for the entire campaign.

The three different spacesuits tested were the Austrian Space Forum’s Aouda.X suit in Innsbruck, the Human Spacelight Laboratory’s NDX-2 suit at the University of North Dakota, and analogue suits at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah.

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French deep-sea diving company Comex, which designed the Gandolfi spacesuit to help recreate the activities of the Apollo 11 astronauts, monitored telemetry data from the suits for all three tests.

The teams had to complete three tests, one run with the suit and one without. First, they had to navigate an obstacle course, erect a tripod, and mount a gnomon on it. They then had to navigate another obstacle course, remove a camera from the suit pocket, and take pictures of their feet while facing north, south, east, and west. Finally, they had to navigate a third obstacle course, remove a sample bag, collect a sample, and label the bag before placing it in a container.

The purpose of the tests was to find a suit that will best allow astronauts to do all the necessary functions in the harsh conditions of Mars. Mars has one-third the gravity of Earth, as well as an atmosphere, consisting almost entirely of carbon dioxide, that’s 0.6% the pressure of Earth’s. It’s covered in dry, corrosive soil and suffers from planet-wide dust storms that can last months. Temperatures vary from -67⁰F (-55⁰C) to 68⁰F (20⁰C), with the poles getting as cold as -243⁰F (-153⁰C).

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The World Space Walk is a part of World Space Week, which seeks to celebrate science and technology, as well as better the human condition. Founded in 1999, it takes place from October 4th-10th, commemorating two big milestones in the scientific world. October 4th, 1957 was the launch of Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite, while October 10th, 1967 marked the signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

The results of the three tests will be published in the scientific journal, Astrobiology, early next year.

Reach staff writer Andrew Schultz here or follow him on Twitter.