Future Spacesuits Should Be Beautiful — and Not Just for Space. Here's Why

In the Trekkie universe there had long been chatter about Counselor Troi camel toe. They had gone through a number of wardrobe epic fails trying to figure out just how to dress her.

I thought that was an urban legend. Until I bought my first HDTV set. I was nodding off on the couch in front of TNG one evening when....

WHOOOOOAAAA......there it is!

I actually felt terrible for her. By reputation she’s a very nice woman.

Uh-oh......my buttons have been pushed.......

I hate to burst this young lady’s bubble, but REAL spacesuits are going to continue to look pretty much like the current ones. Those sexy skin-tight 1950’s spacesuits WON’T WORK!

These people look at a SCUBA divers wet suit, and think that a spacesuit should look like that. But the two problems are exactly opposite.

The SCUBA diver is going into a HIGH pressure environment, and his air regulator is going to give him air at the same pressure as the surrounding water. With no pressure differential, the diver can breathe normally.

The astronaut is going into a LOW pressure environment. As long as his chest is inside the pressurized “can”, he can also breathe normally. But if he tries to put on a skin-tight suit, and is breathing space-craft normal air (pure O2 at 5psi) when he steps into vacuum, his lungs will explode. This would be painful.......

Another problem I always see, not only with Hollywood spacesuits, but with NASA’s planned Mars suit, is that you can’t see your feet. And you are going to go stroll about on a surface covered with loose rocks of various sizes. This will not go well....

I think at least two of the Apollo astronauts managed to fall down on the Moon. Mars would be worse. Hope they send plenty of spare plastic bubbles for those helmets. At least that way, they can salvage the suit......

After cleaning it out.

space-craft normal air (pure O2 at 5psi)

We don’t use 100% O2 at any pressure.

The Apollo program was put on hold while an exhaustive investigation was made of the accident. It was concluded that the most likely cause was a spark from a short circuit in a bundle of wires that ran to the left and just in front of Grissom's seat. The large amount of flammable material in the cabin in the oxygen environment allowed the fire to start and spread quickly. A number of changes were instigated in the program over the next year and a half, including designing a new hatch which opened outward and could be operated quickly, removing much of the flammable material and replacing it with self-extinguishing components, using a nitrogen-oxygen mixture at launch, and recording all changes and overseeing all modifications to the spacecraft design more rigorously.

It’s almost like They knew something was going to happen

Detailed Fire and aftermath Info

Post Fire Picture (WARNING VERY GRAPHIC)

Another Post Fire Picture (AGAIN, WARNING VERY GRAPHIC)

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