Astronauts of the future could receive text, graphics and even video through a wearable computer built into their space suits.
At present, during space walks, astronauts get their instructions via radio.
But the American space agency (Nasa) reckons the way to maximise information exchange is to send it visually into the astronaut"s helmet.
Fitting the upgraded communications equipment into the space suit means kitting the astronauts out with a wearable computer.
"The goal of WearSAT is to provide astronauts who are working outside the International Space Station on a space walk with visual information through a display, a wireless video terminal and a wearable computing system," said Steven Schwartz, project manager of the WearSAT project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"So that they can receive enhanced information while performing the task that they do on such space walks," he told the BBC programme Go Digital.
A wireless network would allow controllers on the space station to beam complex information, such as schematics and technical diagrams, right into the astronaut"s helmet.