In July 1918, Fred M. Sample lodged the first patent for a pressure suit. While a Sopwith Camel could only climb to 3650 metres and space travel was decades away, he could already see the emerging need.
At that altitude, air pressure is roughly 70-75 per cent of sea level, well within the range that a human can tolerate.
Sample described his suit as an "... apparatus for supplying air to aviators when making flights at high altitudes".
While it was a relatively primitive device, it was an early precursor to the space suit.
Then in 1934, Wiley Post became the first man to fly solo around the world. He was wearing a rubber pressure suit manufactured by B.F. Goodrich that enabled him to reach heights up to 12.1km.
The first space suit used was the Russian-made SK-1, worn by Yuri Gagarin in 1961.
He needed that because the Vostok missions didn't have a soft landing system. That meant he had to eject from his capsule 7km above Earth and parachute to the ground.
The requirements for a space suit are complicated and they're custom made for each person. You can't just go to a tailor and pick one up, which makes them very expensive. In 1994, NASA reported it took about two-and-a-half years to make one, costing $2 million dollars.
They must protect an astronaut to temperature extremes of up to 135 degress Celsius. To solve that problem, the Apollo suits used an open mesh with tubes to allow cool water to circulate around the body.
Inside a spacecraft, they can be tethered to a life-support system, but for excursions on the moon, space suits need to be fully self contained while providing some protection from radiation.
To supply astronauts with oxygen, their suits are equipped with oxygen tanks.
You might think that would be enough, but the bigger problem is the build-up of carbon dioxide. For that, space suits carry a cannister of lithium hydroxide.
Inside astronaut suits can become quite humid which can lead to the growth of mould and other fungi, which can be dangerous. To prevent this, suits are treated with antifungal agents.
That brings us to a topic not usually mentioned: astronauts can't cross their legs indefinitely.
Their solution is what you and I would call a "nappy", but this is NASA, so they call it a Maximum Absorbency Garment (MAG).
Listen to the Fuzzy Logic Science Show at 11am every Sunday on 2XX 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@Zoho.com Twitter@FuzzyLogicSci
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
