Space is an extremely hostile environment and a spacesuit is vital for survival. If you stepped outside a spacecraft without wearing one, you would become unconscious within 15 seconds because of the lack of oxygen.
The reduction in pressure would cause your skin and eyes to expand and the saliva on your tongue to boil. A spacesuit provides the correct air pressure for a human body, acting like a protective balloon to prevent bodily fluids from boiling. It is built to withstand temperatures of 120ºC in sunlight and -100ºC in the shade, and is white to reflect heat. Underneath the spacesuit an astronaut wears a liquid cooling and ventilation garment, with water-cooling tubes running through it to regulate body temperature.
Each spacesuit costs around £1 million and weighs about 50kg (140kg with backpack). There is a well-stocked wardrobe of suits available to NASA’s 120 astronauts and each shuttle crew member is assigned three one for training, one for the mission and a backup.
What are spacesuits made from?
The suit is approximately 0.5cm thick and made from 11 layers of material including kevlar, coated nylon and stainless steel. These keep out both dangerous radiation and micrometeoroids (tiny rocks that shoot through space at great speeds) and provide insulation. Spacesuits offer only limited protection from the radiation of solar flares, so spacewalks are planned during periods of low solar activity.
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