A spacesuit is all that stands between an astronaut on a space walk and the emptiness of space. It must supply all his or her needs. There is no breathable atmosphere in space, so a spacesuit supplies oxygen to the astronaut.
Most spacesuits have very specific purposes. First and foremost, they must keep the wearer alive. They serve—in actuality—as individual custom spaceships of a sort, designed for considerably differing environments.
Today, the United States “sports” two specific space suits. One, the Assured Crew Escape System (ACES) suit, is the bright orange contraption familiar to many through viewing shuttle launches on television. Visible during the crew’s “waving walkout” to the Astros Van and their subsequent trip to the launch pad, they are no longer needed with the ending of the space shuttle program (boo hiss!). The suits are now being evaluated for use with future programs—including NASA ’s Orion capsule development—and modified capability to perform spacewalks in the event of a capsule emergency need (e.g., a solar panel that won’t deploy).
Designed to protect the crew only during the ascent (liftoff) and entry (coming back to earth) phases of flight, the ACES suit’s essence was to provide an oxygen source (although a brief one of about 10 minutes) and helmet-suited pressurization for a relatively short period of time, in hopes of enabling the crew to parachute to safety in the event of a bailout emergency. Note that this very purpose went unfulfilled during the Columbia (2003) tragedy and was not even available during Challenger (1986). In fact, the Challenger disaster was one of the key reasons for the original development of this type of spacesuit.
The spacewalking suit, also known as the Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suit, is easily recognizable to even the most casual space buff. Bright white, with identifying stripes of solid, dashed, and angled/hashed red and white, this suit truly was an astronaut’s spaceship. Worn outside of a vehicle while working in the vacuum of outer space, this suit’s design was a bit more extravagant than that of the ACES.
Within the helmet, headphones and a microphone enable the astronaut to communicate with crew members and mission control. All the joins in the spacesuit must be absolutely airtight. Inside, the spacesuit is pressurized, like a deep-sea diver’s suit. A specially treated dark visor protects the astronaut’s eyes from the glare of the Sun, while lights can illuminate dark areas.
A camera may be fixed to the astronaut’s shoulder, so that other crew members and the ground crew can watch what is being done. The temperature, pressure and oxygen levels inside the suit are monitored by a control pack on the astronaut’s front or back. Under the outer suit, a body suit contains pipes through which cool liquid flows to protect the astronaut from the heat of the Sun. The visor and outer layer of the spacesuit must be tough enough not to be torn or cracked by tiny meteorites that may bounce off the astronaut.
Suits are made of artificial materials that offer maximum protection, such as nylon, Kevlar and Dacron. The astronaut is completely sealed within his or her suit, so urine is collected inside for disposal later! On Earth, a spacesuit can be as difficult to walk in as a suit of armour, but in the weightlessness of space, the pull of gravity is not a consideration.
Picture Credit : Google
