Ask the Astronaut by Tom Jones

Author:Tom Jones [Jones, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-58834-538-7
Publisher: Smithsonian
Published: 2016-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

15. Is it hot or cold inside the spacesuit?

It’s surprisingly comfortable inside a spacesuit. The temperature is controlled by a capable cooling system built into the suit’s backpack. Without it, the body heat generated by working in the well-insulated suit would quickly overwhelm a spacewalker.

To keep an astronaut cool, the backpack circulates chilled water through the liquid cooling and ventilation garment that crewmembers wear. Astronauts can control the water temperature by turning a knob on the suit’s chest-mounted control unit.

Sunlight heats the outside of the suit to 250° F (121° C). I remember exiting the airlock from Atlantis and feeling the Sun’s heat immediately warm my arms and legs. At night, though, in the chill of space, heat slowly leaks out of the suit, particularly through the boot soles. Wearing thick wool socks and temporarily shutting off the suit’s cooling system kept my feet comfortably warm.

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