Astronauts and Advanced Crew Escape Suit

The bright orange color astronauts wear to go out for launch is called InternationalOrange, and it’s the same shade as the paint that coats Tokyo Tower in Japan, and the GoldenGate Bridge in San Francisco. However, once astronauts are in space, they swap orange for snow-white evening wear.(It’s always evening in space.)So what gives with the different colors? Well, there are actually two main types of spacesuits.The first one is the Advanced Crew Escape Suit, aka the 'orange suit,' aka the 'pumpkin suit.' Trick or treat! Astronauts wear this full-pressure suit during 'lift-off'.These spacesuits are crucial for those who are heading for super high altitudes.There, the pressure is so low that people can t survive without a special protectivesuit.

Anyway, the orange suit is equipped with different stuff that can help an astronaut to survive if something goes wrong during the launch or landing of the spaceship.For example, a usual 'pumpkin suit' is stocked with flares, survival gear, medications, aradio, and a parachute.And a bunch of candy in case the costumed kiddie s come to the house.Not really.Well okay, I get it, astronauts wouldn t live through the process of leaving Earth withoutthe orange suit.But still, why this color?The main reason for picking orange is that this hue is one of the most visible for searchand rescue, including sea rescue.

Alright, well how about the white, bulky spacesuits? Ah, these are EVA (which stands for Extra-Vehicular Activities) suits.And their purpose is totally different from that of the orange suits. Astronauts wear EVA suits when they go on a spacewalk!Such an outfit can protect them from the unfriendly conditions of outer space, what with its extremetemperatures and near-vacuum!Besides, the white suit can prevent small debris from hurting space-travelers.

You might have noticed that EVA suits are much bulkier than the orange ones. That s because they contain numerous layers of insulation and heavy protective fabric.On top of that, they contain breathable air, drinkable water, and temperature controls.Also, every time an astronaut goes on a spacewalk, they use a tether that ties them to the spacestation.However, in case the tether tears, the EVA suit has a backup system.

This system includes small jet thrusters which can be controlled from the station with thehelp of a joystick.As for the color, the white hue reflects the heat of the sun better than other colors.As a result, astronauts don t get too hot.What s more, the white color is best when it comes to spotting a tiny dot of an astronautagainst the vast expanse of black, black space.One curious detail: while white spacesuits protect astronauts from getting too hot, theycan t prevent them from getting too cold.

And that s when the spacemen s gloves come into play!Yep, they have embedded heaters which keep astronauts fingers cozy and functioning.And speaking of cool, how about some more cool facts about astronauts that’ll giveyou a sneak peek at their highly unusual lives!- While sleeping, astronauts must have exceptionally good airflow around them.Otherwise, the carbon dioxide they exhale can form a bubble around their heads, andthey’ll become oxygen-deprived.

When one astronaut threw a boomerang inside the International Space Station, it returnedto him.So, just remember that as long as there’s some air which provides the necessary forces,even weightlessness won t prevent you from having a bit of fun.- Astronauts have to get rid of their clothes after each use.See for yourself: to bring a mere 1 pound of laundry to the International Space Stationcosts more than $10,000.So, it costs less to throw the clothing away when it gets dirty than to waste water onwashing it.

Skylab was the first American space station which operated for about half a year fromMay 1973 to February 1974.Its interior was pretty big, and astronauts sometimes got 'stuck' in the middle.From there, they’d have to wait for the currents of air to blow them closer to a wallor try to 'swim' back through the air.- Months after coming back from long missions in space, astronauts still tend to let goof things while they’re still in mid-air.They’ve gotten so accustomed to everything floating – they get a shock when the objectssimply crash to the floor.- There was an astronaut who’d been waiting for a whopping 19 years before he finallyflew to space.

The thing is that the mission he’d been selected to go on got canceled.Then, the he remained a backup for other astronauts.Only in 1985 did the persistent astronaut managed to fly on the space shuttle.- All American astronauts have to learn Russian to be able to run the International SpaceStation using Russian-language manuals, if there’s no alternative.- There’s a specially trained person who smells every single thing that astronautstake with them into space.It s done to protect them from unpleasant or toxic odors.

The thing is that you can t really air the room out in space if you don t like how itsmells inside.That s why NASA is extremely careful about what kind of odors are allowed to pass through.- During space adaptation, 50% to 75% of astronauts have highly unpleasant syndromes, such asvertigo, headaches, nausea, and overall tiredness.Well that doesn’t sound like fun!Luckily, everything goes back to normal within 72 hours.- When astronauts are in space, they often see random flashes of light - and it s nothallucinations!Cosmic rays that hit the optic nerve create this effect.

You don t see similar flashes here on Earth, because the magnetosphere doesn t let cosmicrays reach you.And that’s a good thing.- If an astronaut needs to scratch their nose while wearing the EVA suit, there’s a patchof Velcro inside the helmet.I was always wondering about that!- Before going to space, astronauts have underwater training, which is supposed to simulate zerogravity.

But in fact, it has nothing in common with being in outer space.So, the main purpose of the underwater training is to see how future astronauts can deal withextreme environments.- If you ve always dreamed of growing a bit taller, you should probably go to space!Due to the lack of gravity, astronauts grow, on average, 2 inches taller during their mission.But, they shrink back several months after they return to Earth.- Obviously, if someone gets injured on the space station, they can t be rushed to a hospitalright away.

That s why each astronaut is extensively trained so that they can deal with medical emergencies.- Before flying to space, potential astronauts have to get through incredibly tough competition.According to NASA, they accept only 8 applicants out of 6,000!On top of that, the selection process takes around 18 months!- When an astronaut returns from a long stay on the ISS, they feel incredibly clumsy.After being used to the lack of gravity in space, it’s difficult to adapt to the necessityof climbing steps or going around furniture.

The lack of gravity also makes sneezing inside a spacesuit a serious problem.If they absolutely have to sneeze, astronauts bend their heads downward and sneeze intotheir chest.Otherwise, their visors would have to be equipped with windshield wipers!And that snot very pleasant!- Astronauts have been replacing bread with flour tortillas since the mid 80s.The thing is that crumby foods are understandably not allowed on the space station because straycrumbs can damage the equipment.Tortillas, on the other hand, don t present such a risk.Besides, they instantly became very popular with the astronauts.They also fly very well in a weightless environment.

If an astronaut cries in space, tears don t flow down their face.Instead, they gather into thick blobs of liquid around their eyes because the water surfacetension holds tears together. Surprisingly, when coming back after a mission away from the Earth, astronauts still haveto pass through customs.For example, when Apollo 11 returned from the Moon, the spacemen had to declare themoon dust, moon rocks, and other samples they’d collected on their trip to a foreign land. I mean really far away. Astronauts who forget to attach themselves to something when they sleep can easily floataway and bump into a hard surface.

That s why they usually rest in sleeping bags in a small crew cabin.- To shower without gravity isn t an easy feat. Thus, astronauts take a shower in an enclosed cylinder which keeps the water from floatingaway. They use a no-rinse shampoo, spray themselves with water to rinse off the soap, and finally,use a vacuum hose which sucks up all the water from their bodies.- The ISS orbits our planet at a very high speed.I mean, it only takes 92 minutes to make a full circle!That s why astronauts see a sunrise and a sunset every 45 minutes, which totals 15-16sunsets and sunrises each day.