Fine tubes carry heat away from the body. A liquid-cooling garment provides a dedicated water circuit during spacewalks.
Article
There is another garment inside a spacesuit. Thin tubes run across close-fitting fabric, carrying water. This cooling garment collects heat produced by an astronaut’s working body.
If space seems only cold and dark, cooling may sound unnecessary. But a spacewalk is physical work, and heat cannot easily escape a protective, multilayered suit. Sweating alone cannot cool the wearer as a breeze might on Earth.
The liquid cooling and ventilation garment circulates water near the body to collect heat. Its circuit connects with the suit’s life-support system. It serves a different purpose from breathing oxygen or drinking water. Separate systems handle different needs within the same suit.
Distributing tubes around the body allows heat collection while accommodating movement. The winding lines in the photograph are functional routes between a moving person and cooling equipment.
The thick exterior and helmet usually define our picture of a spacesuit. A thin inner layer also makes working in space possible. Protection involves providing an exit for internally generated heat as well as resisting external hazards.
Sources and editorial notes
NASA · Spacewalk spacesuit basics
Smithsonian NASM · Liquid Cooling/Ventilation Garment
Editorial note: Facts were checked against the linked material. Interpretations are MUADAILY’s editorial perspective. Image: NASA · Public domain · Liquid cooling and ventilation garment with water tubing.
Machine-translated from Korean. Read the original.
