Atmospheric diving suit

Atmospheric diving suit

Atmospheric diving suit
Acronym	ADS
Other names	Hard suit, JIM suit
Uses	Deep diving
Related items	Submersible

An atmospheric diving suit (ADS) is a small one-person articulated submersible which resembles a suit of armour, with elaborate pressure joints to allow articulation while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere. An ADS can enable diving at depths of up to 2,300 feet (700 m) for many hours by eliminating the majority of significant physiological dangers associated with deep diving.^[1] The occupant of an ADS does not need to decompress, and there is no need for special breathing gas mixtures, so there is little danger of decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis when the ADS is functioning properly.^[2] An ADS can permit less skilled swimmers to complete deep dives, albeit at the expense of dexterity.

Atmospheric diving suits in current use include the Newtsuit, Exosuit, Hardsuit and the WASP, all of which are self-contained hard suits that incorporate propulsion units. The Hardsuit is constructed from cast aluminum (forged aluminum in a version constructed for the US Navy for submarine rescue); the upper hull is made from cast aluminum,^{[clarification needed]} while the bottom dome is machined aluminum. The WASP is of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) body tube construction.^[1]