16. What do the spacesuits look like? Will they make us look fat? Are they heavy, uncomfortable and tiring to lug around? (A K2S Question)

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Spacesuits are white in color and are very bulky. They make the astronauts look like they are twice their normal size. They have hoses and gauges on them. In our one-gravity environment here on Earth, the spacesuit, including the life support system, weighs about 310 pounds. The suit itself weighs about 110 pounds but in the weightlessness of space it weighs nothing and is easy to lug around. After the astronauts wear their suits for a number of hours, they do feel a bit uncomfortable. Restriction of movement is probably the thing that causes the most discomfort. Astronauts spend many hours in the water at the neutral buoyancy lab (NBL) practicing their spacewalks and getting used to the spacesuits.

Answer provided by Lonnie Moffitt


Image:K2S logosmall.jpg Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer


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