Space & Astronomy

NASA appears to be running out of spacesuits

By T.K. Randall
May 4, 2017 ·  1 comment

What happens when NASA runs out of spacesuits ? Image Credit: NASA For astronauts heading outside the International Space Station, having a reliable, well-equipped spacesuit, or Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), available to wear is absolutely essential.

According to a recent report however, the number of available EMUs is now running so low that it seems doubtful that the supply will last until the ISS is retired in 2024.

New spacesuits are currently in the works but are not expected to be ready for several years."Despite spending nearly $200 million on NASA's next-generation spacesuit technologies, the Agency remains years away from having a flight-ready spacesuit capable of replacing the EMU or suitable for use on future exploration missions," the report states.

Spacesuits are particularly complicated and expensive things to produce and the ones currently in use are starting to deteriorate. As things stand, there are only four working spacesuits aboard the International Space Station and a total of seven others that are either in storage or under repair.

That leaves NASA with a mere eleven spacesuits to last the better part of a decade.


Source: Science Alert | Comments (1)

Tags: Spacesuits