Clothing worn outside

In a weightless environment there is no air, so making space is a vacuum with no air pressure. Space suits protect the human body, which could not survive otherwise in this type of environment. There are times when astronauts must leave their ship. Space suits are the life-saving outfits designed to protect astronauts from the vacuum, weightlessness and radiation they are hit with in space when they leave their ship. If an astronaut went outside their ship without a spacesuit, their blood would boil away very quickly and they would be dead in seconds.

There are a number of points that must be considered when making space suits. The suits must maintain air pressure; supply oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide; control temperature; allow the astronaut to move easily; shield the wearer from radioactive waves. The astronaut fills the suit's cooling system with water to allow for the suit to maintain a comfortable temperature for its wearer. The space suit also allows the astronaut to preserve energy while they perform the tasks they have been sent into space to carry out.

Modern space suits are expected to last for about 8 years. When you get one, you are fitted for each part separately, so you get the right size.

Space suits are much the same for men and women, because there are women astronauts too.