What does an astronaut suit do?

*This text was written by a columnist. TecMundo; finally learn more.

What does an astronaut suit do?

This seemingly simple questioning can lead us to conclusions and thoughts about how uninhabitable the space environment is. The American space agency NASA recently announced that spacesuits will be renewed after 40 years. Astronauts are expected to be able to use the new suit as early as the Artemis mission, which aims to return humanity to the Moon in 2024.

The change will happen so that spacesuits are more durable and astronauts can be more mobile in their missions. Current suits have a mass of about 127 kilograms at the Earth’s surface and take an average of 45 minutes for astronauts to don them. Of course, an astronaut on the Moon would not feel so much weight, because there the acceleration of gravity turned out to be about 6 times less than on Earth.

However, some key features of the current suit, such as being white, must be retained because white, as is known to our popular knowledge, reflects sunlight, making it “less warm” and making the astronauts appear protected from the changing temperature extremes. from 150 degrees Celsius in direct sunlight to -150 degrees Celsius in the “shade”.

In addition to extreme temperatures, the spacesuit has the function of protecting astronauts from the very low pressure that exists in outer space. Considering that the human body is mostly made up of water, an unprotected person in space will instantly boil most of the water in his body due to the low pressure he will be exposed to.

To better understand the effect of a vacuum on the human body, we can draw a parallel with the temperature required to boil water, which varies with atmospheric pressure. So at sea level, this temperature is higher than at the top of a mountain because there is more air above those at sea level.

Therefore, in a vacuum where the pressure is close to zero, it is practically impossible for water to remain liquid. These are the two most common examples of the challenges of populating any planet or moon other than Earth.

When we think of space exploration, we can think of all the benefits it can bring to our species as a whole. To give an example, we have the opportunity to conduct scientific experiments that are not possible on Earth, by collecting important data for various research fields. Also, as we develop our understanding of nature, the devoted work and effort to understand how this new knowledge can be applied in our daily lives is beneficial to scientists around the world.

But when we think about space exploration and realize how small we are in the vastness of the universe, we can also think about how rare it is to find life, at least as far as we know. On Earth, at least for now, we have the perfect conditions of atmospheric temperature and pressure for our life; This is evident as this is where life thrives and adapts. And the preservation of these conditions is not up to us individually, but as a species.

Scientists around the world spend a lot of time searching for planets that can harbor life, largely so we can better understand where we came from and even where we’re going. But this quest must be associated with an understanding and appreciation that Earth is the best planet to live on.

Rodolfo Lima Barros Souzaphysics professor and columnist TecMundo. He holds a Master’s degree in Physics and Science and Mathematics Teaching from Unicamp in Public Perception of Science. Available on social networks as @rodolfo.sou