One large win for asteroid science came earlier this year, when new measurements of the potentially threatening asteroid Apophis determined it won't hit us after all , anytime in the near future. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter howellspace. Follow us on Twitter Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. Elizabeth Howell is a contributing writer for Space. Although oxygen deprivation seems to be the only real danger, it is actually only one of the dangers. If you are going to go to space one day, perhaps the most important thing to take with you may be the spacesuit.
Spacesuits are like a small spacecraft and protect astronauts from dangers in space. The Primary Life Support System PLSS , which looks like a backpack, provides the suit with pressurized oxygen and ventilation while removing carbon dioxide, water vapor, and trace contaminants. The spacesuits used on the International Space Station today remain there all the time. In other words, astronauts do not have their own space suit. The same spacesuit can be worn by several astronauts, according to the assignments from the Mission Control Center.
As you can imagine, the physical structure of every astronaut is not the same. Some astronauts may be tall, some are short, some may be a little leaner or overweight than others. It is precisely for this reason that astronauts have space suits in three different sizes small, medium and large that they use on the International Space Station.
Since the connection points of these spacesuit are the same, an astronaut can make a special combination from these three different sizes if needed. First of all, it can eliminate the oxygen deprivation that we mentioned at the beginning for a certain period of time.
Each spacesuit has two oxygen tanks that work with a carbon dioxide removal system to allow a 6 to 8. Afterwards, the astronaut must return to the space station in order to refill the empty oxygen tanks. Another danger is related to the temperature in space. Unfortunately, the temperature in space is either too high or too low for the human body to stand. For example, ,if an astronaut would go on a spacewalk without a spacesuit when the sun is shining brightly, he or she would suddenly encounter a temperature of about degrees Celsius with the effect of radiation.
Without the sun, the temperature suddenly drops to about degrees Celsius. This situation happens very, very suddenly because there is no atmosphere in space. Here, the only thing that keeps the astronaut safe in these difficult conditions is again the spacesuit.
Another important item on the spacesuit is the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment LCVG , which incorporates clear plastic tubing through which chilled liquid water flows for body temperature control, as well as ventilation tubes for waste gas removal.
Thus, the astronaut can always work comfortably in the spacesuit. In addition to all these, the astronaut must wear a spacesuit to be protected from pressure, radiation and meteor dust. Even though we can't feel it, air is constantly pressing down on us with a tremendous force. We cannot see this force with our eyes, but we constantly experience the results of this effect, especially when driving on steep hills or getting off an airplane.
This pressure created by the air and the internal pressure created by the beat of our heart is constantly in balance. As we just explained, there is no air in space. This means that there is no air pressure in space. Therefore, spacesuits are inflated with a certain amount of air, just like a balloon, to apply the necessary external pressure to the astronaut.
Thus, the body fluids of astronauts can remain in liquid form during a spacewalk. There is a special layer of atmosphere in the world that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. However, since there is no atmosphere layer in space, the sun's harmful rays , also called radiation, can cause great harm to astronauts.
Space suits have layers to protect astronauts from radiation and reflect incoming rays. Also included in the spacesuit is a gold-plated visor section to protect the astronauts' eyes. Meteor dusts are small particles orbiting the earth. You might think; "How could a tiny dust particle hurt an astronaut? Meteor dusts move in orbit of the Earth at a speed of approximately 24, km per hour. Therefore, when any small particle hits an astronaut, it can cause great damage.
For this reason, there is a special protection shield in the upper part of the spacesuit and in the area called the Hard Upper Torso , which is similar to the structure of bulletproof vests.
Thanks to this shield, the astronaut is protected from the vital damage that a meteor dust can cause. Astronauts may have to take long space walks from time to time. The record belongs to two astronauts, Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who took a spacewalk for 8 hours and 56 minutes.
Of course, astronauts can get hungry or thirsty during this long spacewalk. If necessary, you may think that they can go to the space station and have their food. But every minute in space is planned and very important. Taking off a spacesuit, that actually takes 15 minutes to put on with someone's help, can cost the astronaut half an hour, so the astronauts do not prefer to return to the space station and take a lunch break. NASA has found a solution to this issue as well.
Under normal circumstances, menus containing more than types of food are prepared for the International Space Station astronauts. These menus that include snacks can be consumed by astronauts at the station.
There is also a high-calorie chocolate bar, fixed in a space suit helmet close to the mouth, so that astronauts can gain energy on challenging spacewalks. Especially on long spacewalks, astronauts enjoy the meal breaks where they consume these chocolates. Since they cannot use their hands, astronauts consume the chocolate bar by biting on it several times. The next need of the astronaut consuming a high-calorie chocolate bar is of course water. At this point, a water bag located in the spacesuit helmet and a straw attached to this bag comes to aid.
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