A Better Spacesuit
Today, building a better spacesuit. The University of Houston presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
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There’s been much in the news lately about NASA’s big plan to build a base on the moon. This is part of the Artemis space program to return humans to the moon permanently. Lots of details about moon buggies, robotic supply ships and even a first use of nuclear power are now being spread around. But what didn’t get much attention is a key component to make it all work- Space Suits.
Our human bodies are delicate and need lots of help to survive the harshness of space. Where temperatures can swing from well below freezing to super-hot in a moment’s notice. There’s no oxygen or air pressure in space, so we need space suits to do anything useful on the surface of the moon.
NASA knows this very well, which is why they are developing the next generation spacesuit to meet the needs of living and working on the moon. This is because the suits currently used on the international space station were developed decades ago in the 1980s. And are only a little more advanced than what was used in the 1960’s.
Moon Suit Test.jpg (NASA.gov/Bill Stafford): "Prototype moon suit being tested under simulated lunar conditions."
Space suits are more complicated than you might think. Providing oxygen to the occupant is the easy part. You must also remove carbon dioxide waste that you exhale. Getting hot inside? A way to cool the astronaut is very much needed. Hungry or thirsty? Need to eat and drink without being able to touch your face. And if you drank too much coffee before the space walk, well there must be a way to relieve yourself in the suit.
New and more advanced radio systems must be able to talk to your colleagues over long distances. Plus send critical data to earth to inform mission control that all is well with the suit and the occupant.
All these things and more need to be accounted for in a tiny little spaceship shaped like a human. For this, NASA is building a 21st century space suit designed to do the job far better than anything before.
xEMU Info gfx.jpg (NASA.gov): "Details of NASA's new Artemis space suit."
High-pressure tanks provide pure oxygen that both pressurizes the suit and allows the person to breathe. Poisonous carbon dioxide is removed by special devices called scrubbers which are computer controlled for efficiency and don’t wear out.
An integrated water-cooling system keeps the astronaut comfortable by removing body heat using a special body suit that resembles pajamas wrapped with small hoses. Water and food bags built into the suit allows hands-free use via feed tubes. Powerful and sophisticated radios allow communication over long distances.
The new suits allow much more freedom of movement than the old bulky things of the 1960’s and 70’s. Astronauts can now walk, kneel, sit, and climb steps with east. Very handy when exploring the rugged lunar surface.
These new suits will use all the lessons learned from over sixty years of space flight. Most of the components have redundancy in case something breaks. They will also have improved detection and protection from space radiation. But most important of all, they will be easier, more reliable, and more comfortable to use. A great tool for exploring the unknown.
I’m Fitz Walker for the University of Houston, and I too am interested in the way inventive minds work.
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https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/spacesuits/
https://www.axiomspace.com/axiom-suit
https://www.nasa.gov/suits-and-rovers/spacesuits/
This Episode first aired October 7, 2026.