A common spacewalking procedure aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had to be cancelled last minute. Just before going out into the void, in the decompression chamber, two of the astronauts reported a serious failure in their spacesuits. “There is water everywhere,” was heard on the NASA live broadcast. A hose in the cooling system of its mobility units had a leak.
This is not the first time this type of failure has occurred. Some analysts believe it will not be the last either. The spacesuits that the crew uses to face the void are 40 years old.
Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt had to remove a faulty electronics box from the communications antenna outside the ISS. Although not all astronauts must go into the void, these spacewalks are considered a routine exercise that everyone must be prepared for. Before leaving, the water that works as coolant flooded the entire lock. The procedure was rescheduled for July 2. Fortunately, The team was never in danger.
Why do astronauts sometimes wear a white suit and sometimes an orange suit?
Depending on the phase of a mission, astronauts wear different spacesuits. What is orange for and what is the purpose of white?
The aging of space suits
The suits that astronauts wear to leave the International Space Station weigh 127 kilograms. They are specifically designed to protect the crew from extreme temperatures outside the laboratory and from solar radiation.. In addition, they provide oxygen and create an adequate atmosphere so that the operator can work comfortably. Since 1980, NASA has used Extravehicular Mobility Units designed by the company ILC Dover, with some updates to the design every decade.
The ISS and spacesuits are nearing the end of their useful life. Onboard complications related to suit malfunctions are becoming more common. A week before Monday’s spacewalk was cancelled, NASA had to postpone another such event. The details and reasons for that occasion are unclear. The space agency only referred to it as a “suit comfort issue.”
Although NASA has already ordered a new generation of spacewalking suits, it is likely that they will not operate with the ISS. The microgravity laboratory is approaching retirement in 2028, after two decades of operations. A special tugboat will take the modular structure out of orbit so that it sinks right at ‘Point Nemo’, the furthest place from land in the Pacific Ocean.
After the retirement of the International Space Station, there is no news of a similar effort that contemplates the union of several countries at the same time around the Earth’s atmosphere. In its place, NASA will build the Gateway station, a research platform that will orbit the Moon. Although it is considered the successor to the ISS, it will be hundreds of thousands of meters further from Earth.
The new suits may not reach the ISS
Axiom Space is working together with Prada to develop the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Units (AxEMU). These suits are designed to support the next generation of astronauts to reach the Moon under the Artemis initiative. They represent a technological leap of 50 years with respect to the mobile unit that allowed the first moon landing.
AxEMUs are essentially the same “tanks” already used by the ISS crew, but have evolved to be lighter and more flexible. Its soft joints are specifically constructed to enable precision technical work and ground mobility.
NASA will continue experiments aboard the ISS as it faces technical problems stemming from aging components. One of his latest achievements was the successful docking of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The consolidation of this project adds one more ally in future space exploration work.
