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The Evolution of Spacesuits | Science and Technology | Learning English/*
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RSS FeedThe Evolution of Spacesuits??05 April 2011
Photo: NASAAstronaut Jeffrey Williams during a six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station Share ThisDiggYahoo! BuzzFacebookdel.icio.usStumbleUponRelated LinksNASA's Clickable Space SuitTO DOWNLOAD the MP3 of this story, click on the MP3 link in the upper right corner of the page. Double-click any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary
STEVE EMBER: I’m Steve Ember.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about the special clothes astronauts wear that protect them while they work in space.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Many questions had to be answered over sixty years ago when officials first began to think about placing a human being in space. One of the most important was how to design the special clothing needed to protect a person from the dangers of the space environment.
A person cannot work in the extremes of space without many different kinds of protection. The cold of space will freeze skin in a short time. The fierce heat of the sun can cause severe burns. The lack of atmosphere can cause gases and fluids in the body to expand and even burst.
And, with no oxygen to breathe, a human being will die in only a few moments. Any of these extreme conditions would mean a quick death for someone who did not wear special protective clothing. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is another environmental risk in space. So is damage from small pieces of rock and objects like meteoroids.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: When humans explore and do useful work in space, they must take their natural environment with them. The American space agency, NASA, provides astronauts with a number of things that work together to create a protective environment. An astronaut who does work outside the space shuttle usually is wearing more than seventeen pieces of protective equipment.
STEVE EMBER: The atmosphere is about twenty-percent oxygen and eighty percent nitrogen from Earth’s surface to where space begins at one-hundred-twenty kilometers up. Yet up at about five-thousand-four hundred meters the air pressure is only about half of what it is on the ground. At about nineteen-thousand meters, the air is so thin and the amount of oxygen so small that a person needs a lot of special equipment to survive.
A well-known American flyer, Wiley Post, designed one of the first successful devices to protect a pilot at extreme heights. In nineteen-thirty-three, he developed protective clothing that made it possible for him to fly very high. Today, aircraft are designed to prevent air pressure changes at extreme heights. But this was not yet possible in nineteen thirty-three.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Wiley Post made this protective clothing with the help of the Phillips Petroleum Company and the BF Goodrich Company. It appeared to be something a person would wear to stay underwater for long periods of time. A large device that looked like a can surrounded the pilot’s head. A small window in the front permitted him to see.
Wiley Post’s protective clothing was made of rubber. It could hold oxygen and provide the needed air pressure to protect his body from the lack of pressure at extreme heights. This protective suit was only used a few times, but it permitted Mr. Post to fly as high as fifteen-thousand meters. That was higher than any person had ever flown. Mister Post did not know it, but he had designed the first real spacesuit. His suit is now part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Astronauts in NASA’s Mercury Program flew the first American space flights in the early nineteen-sixties. Each set of protective clothing was specially made for each astronaut. The clothing was similar to that invented by Wiley Post.? And, it presented some of the same problems.
When air pressure filled the early spacesuit, astronauts found it difficult to move their arms or legs. It was a little like trying to change the shape of a balloon. The pressure inside the suit provided protection, but made it difficult for the astronaut to move in a natural way.
Mercury astronauts usually wore the suit without air pressure inside. The Mercury spacecraft had the needed atmospheric pressure to keep the astronauts safe. The astronauts wore the suit as a safety device in case the spacecraft suddenly lost air pressure.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Today, astronauts wear very different protective clothing. It lets them move, do useful tasks, and stay outside their spacecraft in comfort and safety for several hours.
For the next few minutes, imagine you are in the space shuttle about to go out to work in space.
STEVE EMBER: You will wear a spacesuit to work in the open cargo area of the Space Shuttle Discovery, which returned from its last flight last month. The spacesuit is called the shuttle extravehicular mobility unit or EMU. It was designed to last longer and to permit more movement than earlier spacesuits.
The EMU has a number of parts that an astronaut can link together by using only one hand. The different parts are in different sizes. This makes it possible for each astronaut to select the parts that fit correctly.
Wearing the whole EMU can add as much as ninety kilograms to your weight. Yet, the lack of gravity in space means you will not feel the added weight.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: You will be wearing equipment that will send medical information back to the NASA control center in Houston, Texas. Doctors will observe your medical condition while you work in space.
You also will wear a device that will collect urine, the body’s liquid waste. You will be working outside the space shuttle for about five hours. This collection device can become very necessary.
STEVE EMBER: You will also wear something called the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment. This piece of clothing is worn next to the skin. It helps keep the body cool by moving water through many small tubes that cover the device. The heat from the sun can reach one-hundred-twenty degrees Celsius in orbit. The material of the space suit helps protect against this heat. The liquid cooling device also works to keep your body from becoming too hot.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: You will also put on a container that holds water to drink. A small tube stays near your mouth so you can drink water during your stay in space. A special hat on your head is made of soft cloth. It also carries several communications devices including earphones and microphones. These communication devices will permit you to talk with other astronauts working outside the shuttle and with crew members inside the shuttle. You can also talk with the control center in Houston, Texas.
The lower part of the spacesuit is next. It is called the Lower Torso Assembly. It is like putting on a large pair of pants that have boots built in the bottom of the legs.
STEVE EMBER: Next comes the upper part of the spacesuit. It is made of a hard plastic-like material. To put it on, you must hold your arms over your head, and rise up into the upper part of the suit. The upper part of the suit also holds the Primary Life Support System.
The life support system supplies the oxygen needed for breathing and the air pressure necessary to protect your body. The upper part of the spacesuit also carries an emergency oxygen system in case the first system fails.
An important part of your spacesuit is the control module. It lets you observe and control your oxygen system. It is also the place you find the controls for your communications equipment. And, it tells you if you are having a problem with any of the spacesuit’s devices.
NASAAn astronaut tests a Mark III space suit designed for the Constellation program in 2007
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: NASA scientists are also considering the kind of spacesuits that would be needed for exploration on the planet Mars. Because of the gravity on Mars, spacesuits may have to be designed to be lighter than suits used in orbit or on the moon. The equipment may also have to protect astronauts from dust carried in the winds on Mars. And, they must be easy to repair and keep clean during a longer flight to and from the red planet.
STEVE EMBER: All of the spacesuits that have returned from space belong to the Smithsonian Institution. Most of the suits are stored in a building about ten kilometers from Washington.
They are kept in a room where air temperature and moisture levels are carefully controlled. The old spacesuits break easily. They were designed to protect the astronaut, and how they would last after a space operation was not a big consideration. Smithsonian experts must pay special attention to protect these suits because they help to tell the story of space exploration.
(MUSIC)
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson and Dana Demange, who was also the producer. I’m Shirley Griffith.
STEVE EMBER:? And I’m Steve Ember.? You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.
Listen? Email? Print? Comments?Comments (47)06-04-2011AmyWu(China)I think the day all of us can live in big space.Because, our planet are so many earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation.
06-04-2011Balance(China)I do not think I would have known how sophisticated the spacesuits are to protect the astronauts before I read this article. And I believe more technologies will be developed to apply to the spacesuits to make them more agile and multifunctional.
06-04-2011Colin(China)Very useful
06-04-2011Autumn Leaf(Viet Nam)The weight of a spacesuit is about 90 kilos? I am so surprised at this information. Through the article, I understand more about the pressures of astronauts. They are not only responsible for their researches, their duties they have to complete under severe conditions in the space; they also have to suffer the unpleasant spacesuit which has many parts to serve them for their working condition. Of course, in space there is no gravity, the spacesuit is not heavy but it is not comfortable to wear.
06-04-2011Joruji(Japan)What an interesting article. I have always wanted to know about the special clothes astronauts wear and the technology behind them. It was also interesting to visit NASA's website to learn more about spacesuits. Thank you.
06-04-2011raguraman(india)nice information
06-04-2011Uwe H?mberg(Germany)Hello VOA,thank you very much for this interesting report. It shows that many things had to be considered as the clothes for astronauts were designed. In my opinion the invention of the spacesuit was very important, because it made it possible for the astronauts, to explore the orbit outside a spaceship.All the best to you.
06-04-2011WinsorThank you, this story is about astronauts suit what they wear inside the space shuttle. How brilliant. when i grow up i want to be an astronaut, that's what my younger brother say. "I am an airplane and that i am listen to instructions to the tv in front of me". This is what the bottom portion of the story remind me of.
06-04-2011hythem(egypt)i want learn english
06-04-2011cosmo(taiwan)The spacesuits seems important to astronaunt.
06-04-2011drac(China)how exciting the space exploration is! so big is the dangerous, but to uncover the unknown is the nature of the brave man. science is great and impavid.
06-04-2011Aynur(Azerbaijan)Very interesting
06-04-2011hide(Japan)Thanks.voa!
06-04-2011Slava(CR)Spacesuit protects human from cool, warm, lower pressure of surrounding environment, carries away human waste, makes possible to communicate with others, supplies water and oxygen and all that controls. Inventors were clever.
06-04-2011Jiang(china)The space was exceting and dangrous.Astronauts are brave and good.I also have a dream to be an astronaut.Finally,i wish OVA would be much good than ever.
06-04-2011Lyliane(France)Interesting subject. Thanks
06-04-2011Marcel(Belgium)A very interesting program.It contained a lot of information that was new to me.
06-04-2011Maki(Japan)As you explained how strong the spacesuit was against the harsh space environment, I have learned again what the outer space was like. I watch television of astronauts flying in space, but because they appear to work in comfort, I had not expected of the space environment. Through the spacesuit topic, it made me think how hard working in space was. In addition, I'm amazed at so many functions inside the clothing.
07-04-2011Ruize He(China)This article is great ! I am fond of it.
07-04-2011plato(China)Yeah, this is message is so great!
07-04-2011junjun(China)Thanks voa for the good news,and the background music is very beautiful!
07-04-2011Wagner Gondim(Brazil)Nice report.I liked a lot, specially the listen part!Congratulations...
07-04-2011Batmunkh(Mongolia)i'm fan of your site.
07-04-2011Mohamed(Algeria)it provides a huge ideas about the space and how the astronauts work . It is definantly huge science . Thanks VOA for these idea . I am absolutely proud of using your Web Site
07-04-2011Olya and Natasha(Kazakhstan)Thank you so much!!!!The voices are very good!!The article is very intresting!! Moreover, we like space and everything that is connected with it.
07-04-2011Dilara(Kazakhstan)Thanks. It's an intereiting information. Space is so mysterious. I want to know everything about this.
07-04-2011Lyazzat(Hazahkstan)Really good article! This is something new for me.
07-04-2011Gallon(Taiwan)A nice information. After reading this, I am curious about the annual salary of an astronaut. A mature astronaut has to be trained maybe several years. Then Considering the space environment is dangerous and severe to live.So how much salary do they deserve?
07-04-2011jack(china)good article
07-04-2011tony(USA)I wish I could explore in space shuttle
07-04-2011chip chip(viet nam)thank VOA. I have learned a lot from you
07-04-2011bthieu(vietnam)thanksI do not know the name of a song at begining of this lecture.Can u tell me?
07-04-2011Hoang(Vietnam)You are a great English and science teacher. Very appreciated. There is a question how does the spacesuit material look like?
07-04-2011Nikki(Cyprus)Interesting.... I always loved space and everything relating to it....
07-04-2011Nikki(Cyprus)Interesting.... I always loved space and everything relating to it....
07-04-2011mr Tran(vietnamese)i like it. i need learing English for seach good job
07-04-2011Lang.Le(Vietnam)Many thanks for your information. It is useful for us to hope of the nice future world. Maybe outspace will be the destination of human beings.VOA is not special in helping me improve my English but also expand my view.Again many thks!
07-04-2011Kiyanoosh(Iran)Very nice. It provides useful information about the life of human being outside the atmosphere.
07-04-2011Carlos Tobon(USA)I very proud of you all, this is the best way I've found to learn English. Thank you so much!!!
07-04-2011mustafa(turkey)very good website.? am learning english.? want to improve english.
08-04-2011batchuka bodonguud(mongolia in Choijin lama)Wow these info is truly wonderful news i love too cosmopolitian of science i was long time ago these news paper read so i had been dreaming space air bus ride to world around trip in dreams has thanks a lot my buddy and this voa special news bless you all
08-04-2011S.Hthat's interesting article. i wish i could go to space someday.. tsk tsk
08-04-2011CML(TURKEY)Now I don't want to be an astronaut. :) I didnt know that spacesuits designers have to prevent so much problem in order to the astronauts work in space.I wonder how to design to spacesuits and space shuttle .I want to go to Space Center in Texas.I hope ? will go there
09-04-2011Yukima(Japan)that's interesting info. that i have never heard.this is impossible for eveyone of us to get into the space,so of course,we have no idea what's the universe look like.It's cool to know more about the astronauts and his equipment.
10-04-2011Peter(Vietnam)If there is anyone who knows the beginning song of this article, please tell me. I really love this kind of music.
10-04-2011maria(costa rica)excellent articule, i did not kinow about spacesuits. it is interesting to learn english using the tools VOA gives us. Thanks
12-04-2011medekin(South Korea)Sooner or later, Since the nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, 11th march, we all people must have to wear that kinds of suits.
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