If you allow active propulsion systems, then the answer is certainly yes - but your suit now becomes a vehicle and that's probably not in the spirit of the question.
If your constraint is "No (active) propulsion system", then you can redefine the question:
"Is it possible to build a passive wing system to make a (slow, 30ms^-2?) controlled descent into the upper reaches of the atmosphere for a mass of approx. 200kg (man+suit) and, if so, what is the minimum temperature that the exterior of such a construction will reach during its deceleration phase? Are there man-made materials that can withstand such a temperature?"
My feelings are a) yes, b) way too high and c) no. The precise answer is left as an exercise to the reader ;=)
Also, I think your "Is it possible to build a passive wing system" is too restrictive. If I had to design something for this, I would consider wrapping a huge balloon around the astronaut to limit the rate of descent. It could start out uninflated as a gigantic air brake, then work from a compressed air cylinder; at lower altitudes, it might be possible pump in air an/or heat air. 100% safe it would never be, but it might be possible to get something that works sometimes. Braking without melting/burning this thing probably might be a stumbling block, though.
Incidentally, the "unobtanium" comment is quite clueless. People have proposed making ablative heat shields out of wood, for heaven's sake. If you allow a "suit" to get bulky enough, an ablative heat shield in one is well within the realm of existing materials science.
Also, the reentry vehicles for the Chinese FSW reconnaissance satellites used heat shields made from Oak.
[1] http://marsrover.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_edl_aeroshell.h...
Orbital reentry would last for minutes and at much higher velocities. The centrifugal forces generated by unchecked rotation could cause blackout or even death. You'd also need to figure out what happens if your heat shield is not heated evenly due to rotation.
Guided reentry is a solution, but then we're talking RCS thrusters, fuel tanks, guidance equipment -- maybe something you can strap onto a spacesuit, but approaching a spaceship. And then you need one for each astronaut, increasing weight and complexity.
I think that's what the comment is saying. He said it would be unobtanium or a lot, by which I assumed he meant the bulk.
There is a reason they keep two Soyuz ships docked on the ISS at all times as lifeboats, in case they need to evacuate in a hurry. Those things are bloody expensive; if jumping overboard was a reasonable alternative, it'd be vastly preferable to keeping ten tons of ironmongery and heat shields on hand.
Having said that, see 1963's Project MOOSE:
I'm not saying that it is possible to jump from the ISS, just that the presence of a lifeboat doesn't demonstrate that any other evacuation route is impossible.
Rolls eyes
why do you need to type that? I think it is irrelevant, rude and condescending. Otherwise your comment was quite informative and I would have upvoted it.It looks like, for now at least, the answer is no.
In the real world knowledge of this stuff is vanishingly thin actually. Real world - the thing out there, with people and trees and stuff.
Things burn up on re-entry because of the tangential speed of the craft (laterally through the increasingly thickening atmosphere as distance to ground increases), not because of the plummet composition of the velocity vector.
If someone could manage a strait jump from that height without forward velocity (in relation to the Earth's rotating frame), I suspect they'd be in freefall (without a normal terminal velocity) until they hit the atmosphere, at which point they'd probably be going pretty fast (9m/s for a few hundred kilometers adds up) and would have some severe heating issues to deal with.
Obviously the atmosphere is extremely thin at that height, but on the other hand astronaut would have extremely high speed at this moment which would help both gliding and add centrifugal force.
If gliding is possible at such height, then it can help lowering into thicker atmosphere prematurely, and therefore would prevent extremely fast deceleration.
Basically the more astronaut slows down - the lower it would glide, always trying to maintain manageable deceleration.
Obviously gliding idea was discussed by space engineers, but I couldn't find the reason why it was rejected.
Your "suit" will likely have to be nearly a spaceship and then really you are arguing on what point a suit becomes a spaceship.
Using some kind of active braking system ("retro rockets") before hitting the atmosphere might help, but its hard to imagine it being portable. You'd need fuel, pumps, guidance and control systems to run it. As you say, your suit becomes a spaceship.
Edit: I'm not sure whether collision with orbiting junk would be a significant risk. Most of it is very small, and as far as I know the chances of being hit only really rise if you spend a lot of time in orbit.
I'm not versed enough in Wolfram Alpha to extend this all the way to ISS orbital altitudes. That's of course assuming one nullifies the lateral velocity, which is actually the main concern for not turning oneself into ashes from friction.
I think that would be a lot more "fun" than jumping with just a super bulky spacesuit.
added: couldn't find the original one from years ago but here's something new
http://i.space.com/images/i/18008/original/dream-chaser-capt...
Edit: found at least one idea http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3551-water-could-repla...
Water is a good coolant because it absorbs lots of heat energy in boiling. But that's not so efficient for its weight/mass, since a water molecule boils only once and then is gone. A solid material can disperse more heat per weight over a longer time without being consumed.
(sorry)