I've decided to group these two together as they can't go without each other. Jet packs, also known as
Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU's), allow the astronauts to perform extravehicular activities (EVA's). MMU's were used in three shuttle missions from February 7th, 1984 to November 8th, 1984.
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| Astronaut Bruce McCandless makes the first spacewalk using an MMU. |
The spacesuit is what the astronauts wear when they are going into space, they need it to survive outside of the craft. The visor on the helmet of the suit is to block the radiation from the sun. At the back of the suit, there is an oxygen tank that flows in a pipe to the helmet. In another container, there is liquid water that flows through a sealed pipe unless an astronaut puts his or her lips to it. The astronauts also need to pee, so there is a device that collects all the urine that the astronauts pee out. Early designs of spacesuits are shown below:
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| Yuri Gagarin's spacesuit when he became the first man in space in 1961 (www.ariandspace.si.edu) |
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| Alan Shepard's spacesuit when he became the first American in space in 1961 (www.regencystamps.com) |
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| Edward White's spacesuit when he performed the first American space walk in 1965 (www.nasa.gov) |
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| Buzz Aldrin's spacesuit when he became the second man to walk on the moon in 1969 (upload.wikimedia.org) |
Now you know a thing or two about spacesuits and Manned Maneuvering Units, also known as Jet Packs, be sure to share this knowledge with your parents, friends, children, and/or siblings and get them interested.
If you have any questions, be sure to leave them in the comments below and I will answer them as soon as possible.
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