Editing Space suit (section)

== Contributing technologies ==
{{Expand section|date=October 2010}}
Related preceding technologies include the [[stratonautical space suit]], the [[WWII gas mask|gas mask]] used in [[World War II]], the [[oxygen mask]] used by pilots of high-flying bombers in World War II, the high-altitude or vacuum suit required by pilots of the [[Lockheed U-2]] and [[Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird|SR-71 Blackbird]], the [[diving suit]], [[rebreather]], [[scuba diving]] gear, and many others.

Many space suit designs are taken from the U.S. Air Force suits, which are designed to work in "high-altitude aircraft pressure[s]",<ref name=thomas/> such as the [[Navy Mark IV|Mercury IVA]] suit or the Gemini G4C, or the [[Advanced Crew Escape Suit]]s.<ref name=nasa>{{cite web|title=NASA Spacesuits|url=http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/nasa_spacesuit/|website=NASA|access-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520023431/http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/nasa_spacesuit/|archive-date=May 20, 2010}}</ref>

===Glove technology===

The Mercury IVA, the first U.S. space suit design, included lights at the tips of the gloves in order to provide visual aid. As the need for extravehicular activity grew, suits such as the Apollo A7L included gloves made of a metal fabric called Chromel-r in order to prevent punctures. In order to retain a better sense of touch for the astronauts, the fingertips of the gloves were made of silicone. With the shuttle program, it became necessary to be able to operate spacecraft modules, so the ACES suits featured gripping on the gloves. EMU gloves, which are used for spacewalks, are heated to keep the astronaut's hands warm. The Phase VI gloves, meant for use with the [[Mark III (space suit)|Mark III suit]], are the first gloves to be designed with "laser scanning technology, 3D computer modeling, stereo lithography, laser cutting technology and CNC machining".<ref group="NASA, ILC Dover Inc.">{{cite report|last1=Graziosi|first1=David|last2=Stein|first2=James|last3=Ross|first3=Amy|last4=Kosmo|first4=Joseph|title=Phase VI Advanced EVA Glove Development and Certification for the International Space Station|date=21 January 2011}}</ref> This allows for cheaper, more accurate production, as well as increased detail in joint mobility and flexibility.

===Life support technology===

Prior to the [[Apollo program|Apollo missions]], life support in space suits was connected to the space capsule via an [[umbilical cable]]. However, with the Apollo missions, life support was configured into a removable capsule called the [[Primary Life Support System|Portable Life Support System]] that allowed the astronaut to explore the Moon without having to be attached to the space craft. The EMU space suit, used for spacewalks, allows the astronaut to manually control the internal environment of the suit. The Mark III suit has a backpack containing about 12 pounds of liquid air for breathing,  pressurization, and heat exchange.{{clarify|what is the internal working pressure of the MK III suit?|date=September 2023}}<ref name=nasa/>

===Helmet technology===

The development of the spheroidal dome helmet was key in balancing the need for field of view, pressure compensation, and low weight. One inconvenience with some space suits is the head being fixed facing forwards and being unable to turn to look sideways. Astronauts call this effect "alligator head".{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

===High-altitude suits===
[[File:Herreraspacesuit.jpg|thumb|Pressurised suit prototype designed by military engineer [[Emilio Herrera Linares|Emilio Herrera]] for a stratospheric balloon flight. {{Circa|1935}}]]
* [[Evgeniy Chertovsky]] created his full-pressure suit or high-altitude "''skafandr''" (''скафандр'') in 1931.<ref name="Kondyurin_2022">{{cite book |last= Kondyurin |first= Alexey  |date=2012 |title=Design and Fabrication of Large Polymer Constructions in Space |location=Amsterdam, Netherlands |quote= "skafandr" was proposed (Yevgeny Chertovsky, an engineer of Aviation Medicine Institute, designed the first full-pressure spacesuit in 1931 for stratospheric flights)|publisher=[[Elsevier]] |isbn=978-0128168035}}</ref> (скафандр also means "[[Underwater diving|diving]] suit").<ref name="Google Translate c105">{{cite web | title=Google Translate: скафандр to English | website=Google Translate | url=https://translate.google.com/?sl=ru&tl=en&text=%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%0A&op=translate | access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref>
* [[Emilio Herrera Linares|Emilio Herrera]] designed and built a full-pressure "[[stratonautical space suit]]" in 1935, which was to have been used during an open-basket balloon stratospheric flight scheduled for early 1936.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Astronautica |title=Escafandra Estratonautica |url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/escutica.htm |access-date=June 19, 2013 |publisher=Mark Wade  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522143849/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/escutica.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2013 }}</ref>
* In 1938 the [[Regia Aeronautica|Italian Air Force]] developed an high-altitude, semi-rigid pressurized suit,  the first to be successfully used in operational conditions on October 22nd 1938 by Lt.Col. [[Mario Pezzi (aviator)|Mario Pezzi]] during his first high-altitude record flight.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRkkmvVr19w, minute 1.32 to 2.47 </ref>
* [[Wiley Post]] experimented with a number of pressure suits for record-breaking flights.<ref name="apps.dtic.mil n729">{{cite web | title=Wiley Post: First Test of High Altitude Pressure Suits in the United States | website=Defense Technical Information Center | url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0616952 | access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Jenkins_2012">{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Dennis R.  |date=2012 |title=Dressing for Altitude: U.S. Aviation Pressure Suits, Wiley Post to Space Shuttle: U.S. Aviation Pressure Suits, Wiley Post to Space Shuttle None |url= https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/dressing-for-altitude-ebook_tagged.pdf?emrc=76e285 |location=Washington, D. C., USA |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration  |isbn=978-0160901102}}</ref>
* [[Russell Colley]] created the space suits worn by the Project Mercury astronauts, including fitting [[Alan Shepard]] for his ride as America's first man in space on May 5, 1961.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}