How About...Spacesuits Through Time

Have you ever wondered how early Spacesuits worked? Or have you ever seen how their design has changed through time?

Well, now it is time to know how they looked like and worked.

This image you see to your left was the first Spacesuit ever designed. It was called Mercury IVA (1959-1963), and it was used during the Mercury missions, including that of John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth on February 20 1962.

Basically the main purpose was to give the Astronaut protection but at the same time comfortability. That is why this pressurized suit allowed the Astronaut to maintain his body processes when exposed to micro-gravity. It is very important to say that space suits, since then, gave very little movement freedom.

For example this Helmet, once pressurized gave no movement at all to the Astronaut's head. But one interesting thing was the tools this suit had. For example, Astronauts had lights on their fingertips, this allowed them to see the capsule's controls.

Now, this image we see on the left is from the Gemini G4C (1962-1966) which was the first Spacesuit used for a spacewalk conducted by Ed White on June 3rd 1965. This new Spacesuit had micrometeoroid protecting covering, parachute, floating device and insulation covering too. With this new suit, designed by US Airforce and then improved by NASA, Astronauts could adjust their gloves when pressurized, for more comfortable use, thanks to the new adjustable straps.

To your right you may find this Spacesuit a bit more familiar, that is because it is the Apollo A7L suit, which was used by famous Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the first Moonwalk on July 20th 1969. As you can see there are significant differences between past Spacesuits, new improvements were:

-Outer shell and thermal outer cover (helmet): which prevented from condensation and sun reflection.

-Two pairs of gloves: one for inner use (inside the capsule) and the other one for moonwalks. Interestingly, gloves were made out of molds which at the same time were made to fit exactly the Astronauts' hand. "Inside the capsule" gloves had silicon fingertips which gave the Astronaut some sensibility during control.

-Portable Life Support System: Now Astronauts could leave the capsule without being connected to it.

-Two pairs of boots: inside the capsule, outside use during moonwalks, preventing from ruptures.

To your right you would find the ACES Spacesuit which is the current Spacesuit, Astronauts use since 1990. It is also commonly known as Pumpkin suit due to its notorious orange colour which is used internationally to help rescuers in emergencies. The helmet has a sunlight protection covering but at the same time, clear enough for rescuers to see the Astronauts' face during any emergency. It counts with floating devices, parachute, and gripping material at their gloves (palms) to allow a more comfortable control management.

To your left we have the EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit which is especially designed and used for spacewalks. It is so durable that it can resist 25 spacewalks or 15 years before requiring any refurbishment.

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And finally, to your right you will see the Spacesuit MARKIII which has been developed and tested by NASA, for future planetary exploration. This new spacesuit allows the Astronaut to kneel down, and pick up objects. It also has a liquid air backpack or LAB, which stores 12 pounds of liquid air. It helps not only for life support but for cooling and CO2 removal.

The best part is that it has an independent wrist glove configuration, which allows more maneuverability for Astronauts to perform different tasks.

Well, now you know how Spacesuits looked like in the past, how they look nowadays, and how are they going to be like in future planetary explorations.

Technology has been advancing at the speed of light (300,000 km/s) and allowing such great and drastic improvements to our spacesuits for explorations. But always remember...Sky is our limit, and Oh my God how many light-years long is the sky?

See you!

I.

Taken from: NASA