In addition, the backpack also provides
electricity for the suit and holds the
communication radio, water for the
cooling garment, a chiller to cool the water
and a pump that circulates the chilled
water.
The longest spacewalk ever conducted
lasted eight hours and 56 minutes and was
performed by NASA astronauts Jim Voss
and Susan Helms in 2001 as they worked
on the ISS. But any spacewalk – regardless
of its length of time – can be a gruelling
task.
Luckily, there are also some additional
components that astronauts can use for
health and safety purposes, as well as the
task at hand (www.is.gd/dimemi). They
include:
● In-suit drink bag: This plastic, waterfilled
pouch attaches to the inside of the
hard upper torso and allows the user to
drink (stopping dehydration). The user
bites down on a valve, which
is connected to a plastic tube,
releasing the drinking fluid
● Maximum absorption
garment: This adult-sized
nappy absorbs material
under the spacesuit
● Cuff checklist: Worn
on the wrist, this checklist
provides a breakdown of
the tasks to be carried out on the
spacewalk
● Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue
(SAFER): Similar to a life jacket, spacewalk
astronauts also wear SAFER as a safety
precaution. If an astronaut should become
untethered and float away, the system can
help him or her fly back to the station. It
uses small nitrogen-jet thrusters and is
controlled by a small joystick.
Spacewalk space suits are complicated
pieces of PPE, but make sense when
PPE – IN SPACE
November Autumn 2020 2018 www.www.operationsengineer.operationsengineer.org.org.uk uk 23
broken
down into functions. The
main purpose of any PPE is, of course, to
protect the wearer – and with so many
additional health and safety factors in
space, it is easy to see why this kit has
been so successful in enabling astronauts
to conduct external tasks around the
ISS. Health and safety is, and will always
be, a critical factor across industry, and
that focus applies everywhere – even 250
miles up in the sky.
Infographic: NASA
/dimemi)
/www.www.operationsengineer.operationsengineer.org.org.uk