The Space Suit

What is a space suit? A space suit is a set of clothes that an astronaut must wear in order to survive an EVA mission in an environment without breathable air. The space suit is also known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). Out in space there are many dangers that astronauts must face. The dangers of space range from temperatures of extreme heat or cold. this is because space is just empty so heat will not conduct to transfer. The only heat in space is solar radiation. When you are in the shade, behind a space vehicle, solar energy can’t reach you so no heat is radiated and you are in temperatures below -200 C. This is why EVA missions directly in space are shortened to as short as possible, you get your job done and you get back to the station or spacecraft. Normal EVA missions are all about repair, so you need tools. Space suits used today are equipped with a tool belt to hold anything for repairs.

Going back about 3-5 decades ago we find America and the USSR in the cold war, but also in the Space Race. During the Space Race, the two countries were competing to be the first ones to get into space and onto the moon. The Soviets were the first to get a spacecraft into orbit around the earth. The Soviets also were the first to get a human to space, and the first to send another animal to space. However, America used the space suit to conduct the first EVA mission, the first space walk. An idea that was once thought of for space suits, was that there could be a sealed hatch on the back of the suits that could be opened to let an astronaut crawl out of the suit and into a building through a small tunnel that could attach itself to the suit. this would prevent an astronaut risking contamination of their living space with moon dust. The reason for avoiding contamination, is that moon dust is similar to glass that is been crushed into a fine powder, if inhaled it could potentially cause death. The idea originated when NASA thought about colonizing on the moon.